Inside the iPhone-Made Movie That Beat the Odds

It had been done before.

Sean Baker’s “Tangerine” was released in 2015 and shot on an iPhone 5s. That film had a budget of $100,000. Fast-forward to 2023 and this first-time filmmaker faced a daunting question.

Shooting was to begin October 10, 2023. A month earlier, Apple would release the iPhone 15 Pro Max which would offer log output. This was a game changer. I wasn’t interested in a passion project, I wanted to make a film that was worthy of festival acceptance and garner distribution… and, to me, the iPhone with Beastgrip Anamorphic lens was the obvious choice.

I would be the writer (with an assist from the two leads), director and director of photography. I would also be handling lighting. And scenes would call for one, two or three cameras.

“What Tomorrow Brings” is a psychological drama that dives into the areas of mental illness and suicide, starring the my two youngest daughters, Joely and Phoebe. My son, Eli, would be responsible for the sound and soundtrack.

My two oldest daughters (Ariel and Zoey) had roles in the film, too. Zoey was also responsible for hair and makeup, and Ariel assisted me behind the scenes.

Even my wife had a role.

Eli, at first, was completely against the camera choice. I suggested that we film one scene, upload what we captured and, together, we could decide if the footage was satisfactory. We did and it was.

It was true guerrilla filmmaking. We used my house, my kids’ condo, local restaurants and businesses that wanted to support the project, the woods, playgrounds… Eli was handling the boom and during that very first scene we shot, he stopped me to share an idea.

He did not want me to be stopping scenes. He wanted to be able to work from one singular take. At first, I was a bit upset with this request. However, I quickly realized it was necessary.

I wanted to utilize more than one camera. And I felt the only way this movie was going to work was by letting the actors act and find a genuine rhythm with every scene. It wasn’t going to be about brilliant cinematography. It was going to be about framing the actors in a way to get the most out of a scene.

The beauty of the iPhone is its size and weight. Those challenging, emotional scenes would not have a big camera right in the face of the actor. For those scenes I needed to hold the camera and walk backwards only required my steady hand and someone to guide me so that I did not trip over a tree stump.

During the movie, there is a pivotal scene where the girls are walking from a restaurant to a car that doesn’t start and then through the woods. Michigan did not have a lot of snow that winter, but that day we did have a storm – it would be our only chance.

After dinner, I told the girls to get their winter coat, hat, mittens and boots. With no other support, the three of us ventured out. And with the assistance of natural street and business and house lights and two handheld Coleman lanterns, we secured some of the greatest footage in the film.

And whereas some critics found fault with some of the indoor shots, I believe there was complete agreement that the outdoor shots were fascinating. 

And those issues that critics had with the flatness of some of the indoor shots was on me, not the iPhone. A couple of other scenes – a hallway fight, and another in a tent would not have been possible for me to capture if I did not have a camera of that size.

The iPhone provided me with the freedom to completely control the logistics and timing of the production schedule without having to worry about having two other camera operators and budgeting rental of larger, more expensive camera cameras.

Filmmaker Matt Engelbert ultimately steered his What Tomorrow Brings movie towards a hope-filled ending, even with different ideas from his creative team.#indiemovie @A24 @DZPresents @cathyrankin1 @VinylRecordDude @HollywoodInToto @AOTPfunsanityhttps://t.co/OA0mHnNxyn

— All Over the Place Podcast (@AOTPfunsanity1) October 13, 2025

We filmed over a six-month period. Once the editing process began, the log footage allowed for some coloring options I did not anticipate. And another wonderful advantage of a single take took everything out of the guesswork with every scene.

I am not a professionally trained director of photography. For that matter, I am not a professionally trained writer or director. Some, no doubt, will say that is obvious to them after watching the film. However, I have read enough reviews and, more importantly, heard from viewers, who connected with the film in a beautiful way.

They were not focused on deficiencies, but on the story and the storytellers.

“What Tomorrow Brings” did get accepted into festivals. It won a couple of awards. Joely won Best Actress at the Santa Fe Film Festival. And we did secure distribution with Buffalo 8. And now the film is available on Amazon, Plex, Fandango, Fawesome with others to follow.

Alan Ng of Film Threat wrote in his review of the film, “What Tomorrow Brings stands as a testament to what can be achieved with a bit of passion and a solid story. For emerging filmmakers with little to no resources, this is proof that if you have a story to tell—especially one close to your heart—all you need is your cell phone, some willing collaborators, and the courage to press record.”

All in all, I would call that a win.

Matt Engelbert is the executive producer/director of “Ariel & Zoey & Eli, Too” and (Daytime Emmy nominated) “Steal the Show.” He is also the writer/director of “What Tomorrow Brings.” He resides in sunny Southwest Florida. Please follow him on Instagram.