Rhode Island Filmmaker Blends Comedy, Faith, and Philosophy in New TV Series

​Mason Aksamit didn't set out to become a filmmaker in Rhode Island. Born in Connecticut and raised in Colorado, he spent years traveling the world—living in Germany and England—before landing in Bristol, where his parents owned rental properties. What began as a launching pad toward New York's acting scene turned into something more permanent once he discovered the state's booming film industry.
"The Rhode Island film scene has been taking off like crazy," Aksamit said. "It's honestly just a really good spot to be."
Now the educator, author, and film producer is deep into production on his most ambitious project yet: a nine-season television series called "Me, Magic Mushrooms, and My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The show, currently being filmed and released in segments on YouTube, draws from Aksamit's own religious upbringing and his subsequent break from faith.
Aksamit attended a Christian high school and left as an atheist, disillusioned by what he saw as a culture more focused on religious politics than the teachings of Christ himself. "It became this land of just homophobia, sexism, and this overly conservative mindset," he said. Stepping away from God, he added, ended up unraveling parts of his own life in ways he didn't intend.
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Aksamit says his perspective shifted again, this time through an experience with psilocybin mushrooms. "I saw God in every cell of the universe," he explained. He came to believe that God isn't a distant judge deciding who goes to heaven or hell, but rather a divine love embedded in everything—an idea he connects to the Hebrew word for God, Elohim, which he interprets as containing both feminine and masculine elements.
That philosophy now anchors his TV series, which he describes as an effort to explore what he calls Jesus's actual message: that "the kingdom of God is within us." Aksamit is careful to frame the show as entertainment first. "It deserves to have some lightness to it," he said. "I think bringing that humor in kind of makes it easy to palate."
The project has been years in the making. Aksamit began writing during the pandemic and has amassed more than 1,000 pages of notes. The first season, roughly the length of a feature film, is being broken into five-to-10-minute segments and released on YouTube as it's completed. Once finished, Aksamit plans to submit the project to film festivals, pursue a theatrical release, and eventually pitch it to streaming platforms.
This isn't Aksamit's first project to gain recognition. In 2020, his short film "Tag" won Best Short at the Onyko Ukraine Film Festival, and he went on to enter several other festivals in 2021 and 2022. But the experience taught him a hard lesson about the business side of filmmaking. "I spent probably like $2,000 to $3,000 on just sending it to all these film festivals," he said. "Everybody goes, 'Oh, you're so good, here's all these awards,' but you just lost three grand." The awards, he realized, don't pay the bills—so he shifted his focus toward projects that could generate income.
Beyond filmmaking, Aksamit has built a second career helping students dramatically cut the cost of a college degree. In 2017, he earned his bachelor's degree in European History from Southern New Hampshire University for under $15,000—a fraction of the typical cost—by testing out of three years' worth of coursework.
His method relies on exams like CLEP, DSST, and Straighter Line, which allow students to earn college credit by passing standardized tests, often for a fraction of the cost of a traditional course. Aksamit points to Modern States, a free platform funded by philanthropist Steve Klinsky, which offers full college-level courses online at no cost and covers the fee for an associated CLEP exam. "A normal $3,500 college course, you can get paid for by a billionaire," he said. "All you have to do is pay the $30 sitting fee."
Aksamit, founder of Old World Productions & Publishing, has also authored several award-winning books on affordable education and storytelling. He says his mission ties his creative and educational work together: using storytelling, comedy, and unconventional paths to help people rethink what's possible—whether that's a college degree or a spiritual worldview.
Those interested in following Aksamit's TV series or learning more about his approach to affordable education can find him on Instagram at @mason.aksamit or through his YouTube channel, Old World Productions and Publishing.