‘It Ends’: How a Gen Z Filmmaker Made One of the Year’s Best Movies With $150,000 and a Car

Gen Z filmmaker Alex Ullom’s debut feature, “It Ends,” premiered at South by Southwest in March 2025. The film follows four friends who are stuck on a never-ending road after graduating college and entering adulthood. Ullom, now in his late 20s, drew from his own experiences with mental and emotional struggles to create a film that captures a universal feeling of generational ennui.

Ullom raised around $150,000 for the film's budget through a variety of odd jobs, including meme creation for Reddit and ghostwriting screenplays for strangers on Upwork. He also received funding from a film fund and borrowed equipment through an FSU alumni initiative. The film was shot on a budget of $30,000 and features a used 1990s Jeep Cherokee as a representation of an older generation.

Despite initial setbacks, including a surprise streaming debut and limited theatrical release, "It Ends" has received rave reviews. Ullom believes that the independent feature is the way out of the current state of the film industry and that his film is a testament to the power of original storytelling and creativity in the face of adversity.