By James Duggan on June 13, 2026
For many people, losing a career during an economic downturn can feel like the end of the road. For Elena Altman, it became the beginning of an entirely new chapter — one that would eventually help shape a thriving independent filmmaking community across the Bay Area.
As the founder of MMTB (Movie Making Throughout the Bay), Elena has spent more than a decade creating opportunities for filmmakers, actors, writers, and creatives who once felt forced to leave Northern California in pursuit of their dreams.
Today, MMTB stands as more than just a film organization. It is a creative movement built on collaboration, community, and the belief that filmmaking opportunities should exist outside of Hollywood.
Before entering the film industry, Elena built a successful career in software testing and management during the height of the tech boom. After the market downturn and housing crisis of 2009, she unexpectedly found herself laid off despite years of experience and leadership.
Rather than viewing the setback as defeat, Elena saw it as an opportunity to finally pursue something she had always been passionate about: storytelling and acting.
“I realized I wanted to create something meaningful and creative,” Elena shared. “I’ve always loved making people laugh and expressing myself, so I decided to take a chance on acting and being involved in the film community.”
What began as a personal creative journey quickly evolved into something much larger.
Frustrated by the lack of collaboration opportunities for filmmakers in the Bay Area, Elena created a Facebook group designed to bring together local actors, filmmakers, writers, and creatives.
The response was immediate.
Within just one month, the group grew to more than 1,000 filmmakers eager to connect, collaborate, and create projects together.
At the same time, Elena began producing, directing and acting in her own films, discovering a passion not just for performing, but for building an entire creative ecosystem around independent film production.
Determined to create more opportunities, she launched a unique film challenge event where participants formed teams and created short films together. The first event drew multiple complete film teams and generated overwhelming enthusiasm from participants.
The demand became so strong that attendees insisted the challenges continue every month.
That momentum became the foundation of what would later evolve into MMTB.
As MMTB continued growing, Elena faced one of the most difficult challenges many entrepreneurs’ encounter: balancing passion with sustainability.
Initially, the events operated as free community gatherings supported by potluck contributions and volunteer effort. However, as attendance expanded and venue costs increased, Elena introduced a modest admission fee to help cover expenses.
Not everyone supported the change.
“There was resistance at first,” Elena explained. “People didn’t fully understand why we needed to charge anything, even though it was only to keep the events running.”
Rather than giving up, Elena leaned further into her vision. In 2012, MMTB officially became a nonprofit organization, allowing the organization to access resources, venue partnerships, and long-term operational support while continuing its mission of supporting local filmmakers.
The nonprofit structure also strengthened credibility within the community and opened doors for larger opportunities.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, MMTB had grown into a powerful creative force throughout the Bay Area.
The organization regularly hosted multiple film challenges each month, with teams producing more than 15 films monthly. Grant funding and participant funding helped support production and award cash incentives to participating filmmakers.
Over time, MMTB played a role in helping produce more than 20 feature films while creating valuable networking and collaboration opportunities for actors, directors, writers, and production crews.
Elena’s larger mission has always remained the same: create sustainable filmmaking opportunities locally so talented creatives do not feel forced to relocate to Los Angeles to pursue careers in entertainment.
“There’s incredible talent in the Bay Area,” Elena said. “I wanted to help create opportunities here so people could build careers without leaving their community behind.”
Like many organizations in the entertainment industry, MMTB experienced significant setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Productions slowed, grant funding and participant funding became more difficult to secure, and live events became increasingly challenging.
Still, Elena never stopped building.
Today, she continues rebuilding the organization while maintaining long-running events like the Bash-Bay Area and Sacramento Short Film Festival, which has now operated for more than 13 years.
Her long-term vision is ambitious but deeply rooted in community impact: increase grant funding and community participation to support Indy filmmaking, create more local film jobs, and continue strengthening the Bay Area as a serious filmmaking destination.
For Elena Altman, success is not measured only in revenue or recognition. It is measured in opportunities created, creative careers launched, and communities built.
What began as one person’s career reinvention has evolved into a lasting creative platform that continues to inspire filmmakers throughout Northern California.
Through resilience, persistence, and an unwavering commitment to supporting others, Elena has transformed personal adversity into a mission-driven organization that continues to shape the future of independent film making in the Bay Area.
And for the thousands of creatives who have connected through MMTB over the years, her impact reaches far beyond the screen.
For more information, reach out to www.mmtb.org.
Calendar link– events.mmtb.org
Instagram – instagram.com/moviemakingbay
FaceBook – facebook.com/MovieMakingBay
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