Oct. 25, 2026

Special Episode – The Commissioner is In

Show Notes

New York City’s newly appointed Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) joins Film Fights with Friends to share what he has learned on his New York Filmmaker Listening Tour. Commissioner Espinal gives us a state of the industry in NY as he sees it, answers listener questions, and shares how the city plans to build on existing programs and create new initiatives to support independent and big-budget film, television, and the local creative economy. We discussed how state-to-state competition for productions can affect local film workers, how production insurance can help facilitate safe sets while lowering costs for filmmakers, and how directing his own short film informed his role as Commissioner of MOME.

GUEST MENTIONS:

Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment: https://www.nyc.gov/site/mome/index.page

Filmmaker listening tour dates and locations: https://www.nyc.gov/site/mome/news/09282026-listening-tour.page

NYC Film Permits: https://www.nyc.gov/site/mome/permits/permits.page

MOME Initiatives: https://www.nyc.gov/site/mome/industries/initiatives.page

MOME on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madein_ny/

The Commissioner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nycmomecommish/

FILM FIGHTS WITH FRIENDS

New Breakfall Studios website: http://breakfallstudios.com

Submit to our festival on FilmFreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/FFWFPodFest

Learn more about the TSP: https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/index.html

Support the TSP: https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/inv_in_innovation/sponsor.html?v=eUNc33MfXgI

Support our food drive: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participant/NYCombatSambo

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Join our e-mail list! Hit us up here: fightingwithfriendspod@gmail.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/FilmFightsFriendsPod

Facebook: http://facebook.com/FilmFightsFriendsPod

Steve’s Instagram: http://Instagram.com/sambosteve

Steve’s IMDB: http://imdb.me/stephenkoepfer

Paul’s on Instagram: http://Instagram.com/KravMagaChef

Paul’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8062990/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Breakfall Studios’ Instagram: http://Instagram.com/breakfallstunts

PRODUCERS

Executive Producers:

Stephen Koepfer