Production Company
Based in NYC

Big Indie

About Us

Manchester By The Sea

Big Indie is a film and television production company based in New York City. Big Indie was founded by producer Declan Baldwin and is now co-owned with producer Karl Hartman. They have been working together for more than a decade.

We are a genre agnostic company that works across film, television, and documentary. We are filmmaker forward with a great emphasis on strong and unique voices. We have partnered on many award-winning films and television series.

Big Indie’s Production Services arm provides all forms of infrastructure to both studio and independent productions. We boast an extensive list of clients, and we work directly with the producers, studio executives and financiers daily.

Who We Are

Declan Baldwin

Founding Partner-Producer


Declan Baldwin began his career as an intern on a feature film here in NYC. He was quickly promoted by just raising his hand when asked…who can drive a Winnebago? He saw his future. It was only learning how to drive a Winnebago by morning that gave him any pause at all.

Since then, Declan has traveled throughout the US and beyond working on dozens of film and television productions. His producing credits represent a great array of award winning and much celebrated movies including Manchester by the Sea, Still Alice, Captain Fantastic, Adventureland, The Laramie Project, Far From Heaven, and many others. He has spent most of his career as a physical producer in service to and surrounded by wonderfully talented and hardworking filmmakers. Declan delights in being a part of Big Indie and to witness the company flourish. He is a lifelong New Yorker and a longstanding member of both the PGA and DGA.

Karl Hartman

Managing Partner-Producer


After graduating from college and returning home from Peace Corps Albania, Karl began his career working in physical production on films like: Still Alice, Manchester by the Sea, and Captain Fantastic. Karl became a partner at Big Indie in 2018 and oversees all its day-to-day operations. He produced Michael Shannon’s directorial debut, Eric LaRue, and was one of Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch of 2023.

Kate Bolger

Senior Development Executive

Kate Bolger is a Gotham Award-nominated producer who began her career in physical production working with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, and Francis Lawrence. During her time at Refinery29, she helped spearhead the development and production of the critically-acclaimed short film initiative Shatterbox, during which she produced over 28 short films around the world. Shatterbox films have premiered at Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Palm Springs, and countless other festivals as well as on TNT. Her latest works include, Pride, a six part documentary series which premiered on FX and Hulu in Spring 2021 and The Color of Care, the second feature from Academy Award-nominated and Emmy winning director, Yance Ford, which was produced in partnership with Oprah Winfrey and released in 2022 by The Smithsonian.

Jonathan Joseph

Head of Production

Originally from Phoenix, Jonathan comes to New York by way of Pittsburgh where his journey in the world of filmmaking began. For more than a decade Jonathan has worked in physical production as a production supervisor and line producer on scripted features and documentary projects alike. Jonathan met Declan and Karl when they all worked together on Manchester By The Sea in 2015. Jonathan lives in Brooklyn, NY, and is a member of the PGA.

Liz Modena

Head of Production Finance

Liz became versed in the many aspects of Production Finance as a Post-Production Accountant and senior staff person at Trevanna Post for more than twelve years. She honed her skills there and developed many trusted relationships with the major studios and independent production companies. Some of her credits include The Irishman, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Greatest Showman, Spotlight, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Liz joined the team at Big Indie in 2020 and we are thrilled to have finally seized the opportunity to hire her. She oversees our growing Finance team and Production Finance for all Big Indie projects from development through production, post and deep post.  Liz is a New Yorker through and through and the very proud mother of two children.

Ashleigh Bell

Production Executive

Having moved from Australia in 2015, Ashleigh started out working as a production assistant on indie features before making her way onto the sets of The Greatest Showman, The Post, Netflix’s Maniac, The Goldfinch, and Wonder Woman 1984, amongst many others. She then went on to work as a director’s assistant and AD before making the jump to our office. Ashleigh is currently working primarily in union and guild signatory relations, with an eye to move into development and producing Big Indie content in the future.

Tandace Nassiri-Sheijani

Production Executive, Delivery / Development Team

Tandace moved from Arizona to NYC to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After graduation, she made her way from freelance videography work and into the industry working as a set PA, a writer’s PA and assistant to producers and actors. She has worked in television on Billions, The Americans, The Good Fight, and Orange is the New Black. She also assisted on films such as You Were Never Really Here, Second Act, and Hustlers. Hiring Tandace in 2019 was one of the best decisions we made that year.

Jordan Larsen

Coordinator

​​Jordan is originally from Big Sky Country and received her B.A. in Film and B.S. in Business Marketing from Montana State University. After graduating, she worked as a production assistant on Certain Women and American Honey before moving to New York City in 2015 to continue working in the industry. Her credits include The Greatest Showman, A Quiet Place, and Pose. She broadened her knowledge of filmmaking as a director’s assistant on productions such as Fosse/Verdon and The Plot Against America. She’s happy to have found a home at Big Indie, working in both production and development, and is excited to be part of whatever growth is to come.

Andrea Davis

Post Coordinator

Andrea is originally from Dallas, Texas and earned her degree in film studies and production from Hofstra University’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. While in college, she interned at Tribeca Shortlist, Engel Entertainment, and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Since graduating, she has worked as an executive assistant at the entertainment law firm Grandson Des Rochers, LLP and has also worked as a writers’ assistant on The Amber Ruffin Show.

Jon Rodriguez

Office Assistant

Jon is originally from Syracuse, NY and received both a B.A. in English and Film Studies and an M.A. from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. During his time at Newhouse, he worked as a Development Assistant at American High Studios and served as a Board Member for the Syracuse International Film Festival. After graduation, he worked as a Production Assistant on sets such as Miguel Wants to Fight, Raising Kanan, and Madame Web before working at Big Indie. Jon supports our staff and executives and hopes to support our development team in the near future.

Esi Yamoah

Karl Hartman’s Assistant

Esi is an award-winning producer and African Academy Awards nominee. After working in Ghana for a few years, Esi transitioned back into the American film and television industry. Her journey has ranged from working in the AD department at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta on projects such as The Haves and the Have Nots to serving as a post-production coordinator in LA for Freeform on projects such as Grown-ish. In 2018, Esi produced the feature film, Gold Coast Lounge, which provided her with the award for Best Picture of the Year at the 2019 Ghana Movie Awards and a nomination for Best Film at the 2020 Africa Movie Academy Awards. Esi supports Karl Hartman as his assistant in his day-to-day operations for Big Indie on the production and development sides.

Cheryl Kurk

Production Finance, Series Development

Cheryl was a favorite and much sought-after Key Accountant for many great producers. Friday Night Lights, No Country for Old Men, True Grit, and Fifty Shades of Grey are just a sampling of her credits. Cheryl is intensely detail-oriented, a masterful systems builder, and a true production veteran. She manages our systems via Dropbox and Scenechronize, and Box; in addition to our guidelines and compliance for each production.

Kimberly Edwards

Production Finance Executive

Kimberly began her film career while majoring in business and attending the University of Georgia. She focused on pursuing the accounting department and spent many years  working as a production accountant on projects directed by the likes of Robert Altman, David Lynch, and Martin Campbell. Kimberly began providing post-production accounting services with clients ranging from Sony, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and Miramax. Big Indie was able to lure Kimberly in house in 2018, where she’s been ever since.Kimberly loves being a mom to her twin daughters and golden retrievers.

Alysse Rossner

Production Finance Executive

Following college, Alysse started her career in the production office. For years she was a production coordinator on single and multi-camera shows. Credits include: Are We There Yet?, Friends of the People, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. To expand her production knowledge, she transitioned to the accounting department and found a particular interest in creating systems and building better resources for Accountants. Those credits include: Living with Yourself, Bruised, and Spaceman. Through on-the-job experience she develops streamlined digital workflows for Accounting teams from production through delivery. Alysse arrived at Big Indie in 2022. She enjoys upcycling furniture and creating vegan dishes.

Jenny Gates

Production Finance – Post Accounting

Jenny started her career in 2003 as an Accounting Clerk on the TV show Third Watch before working on several features including Inside Man, Spider-Man 3, and I Am Legend. In 2009, Jenny made the switch to episodic television and continued working in the accounting department as an Assistant Accountant until 2016, when she bumped up to Key Accountant. Through her work on episodic TV, Jenny learned what is needed to be the excellent accountant we are lucky to have today. Before joining the Big Indie team as a Post-Production Accountant in January 2021, Jenny worked on shows including Ugly Betty, Blue Bloods, Smash, The Get Down, and Dickinson. She is an extremely valuable member of our finance department, as well as a proud momma and skilled drummer.

D. Benjamin Toomey

Production Finance – Assistant Post Accountant

Ben traded his real estate career for film production in 2011. He learned the craft at an immersive film program in Arizona, where he worked on various projects, from shorts and music videos to indie features. He moved to Texas and then to Georgia in 2017, where he joined major networks and studios, such as NBC, Netflix, WB, HBO and BET. He also became proficient in production accounting, working as a clerk and a 2nd assistant on several shows, including Tyler Perry Studios’ productions, the Netflix feature Out-Laws and the Starz series BMF.

Ahmed Chopra

Production Finance Manager

Ahmed moved from Maryland to NYC in 2013 and has been working as a freelancer in film production ever since. After doing it all on set – PA, AD, crafty, and driving those big Edge trucks – he moved over to the production office. He grew within the coordinating world on projects such as Orange Is the New Black, Maniac, and When They See Us. Eager to learn yet another part of the biz, Ahmed made the switch to the accounting department in 2018. He worked on various scripted shows as well as Spielberg’s West Side Story. Big Indie is excited to have Ahmed join the staff and support projects from development all the way through post.

Jon Chae

Production Finance Coordinator

Jon was proudly born and raised in the great San Fernando Valley. After moving to San Diego to attend UCSD, he returned to Los Angeles, where he currently resides with his partner and his dog, Percy. Jon cut his teeth in production accounting working for studios such as NBC, ABC, and MGM on projects such as Saved by the Bell, Creed III, and Fast X. He is honored and excited to be a member of the Big Indie team.