In my quest to create a Sustainable Investor Class for Indie Film, it is easy to get bogged down in the numbers. When one says “investor” hopefully we think first of “profits”, but that is not the only thing that positive choices can generate. After all, we are talking about investing in culture, right?
American art film is under threat. Independent film that is not based on the “Oops, I Farted!” template (thanks again to Mike Ryan for naming this category for me) is currently at risk. That which has been deemed commercial is not only what gets the most traction, it often seems all that people want to talk about. Generally speaking, the industry aims to create what will sell; the harder that get,s the lower they reach. Independent film was once about what we aspire to be; now it frequently seems to be focused on what we wallow in.Do you really want to be part of that? It is not just about the money, is it?
I remain convinced that we all entered the film biz driven to make something great.
How do we counteract the market forces that encourage a sameness and lameness to so much of our work?
We need to build a community of those with the means to make things happen to be able to join together, united in shared values, and return to a culture of greater aspirations.
What could be better than knowing that you have lifted the culture up higher? Don’t you want to know that you made the world a better place for your children and loved ones?
Have you ever been in the room where the group of you made something positive happen? Don’t you want that feeling again?
All of that, that joy, could be part of what we offer investors to our project. Before a story can be told — certainly told well — the context, the setting, for telling it must be established. That is what needs to be established.
In this time of so many opportunities, people want a greater return on their investment, on their engagement. They are not looking merely for profit. They are looking to be able to employ their money wisely, to create something new, something better.
Read:
Towards A Sustainable Investor Class For Film Culture And Business
Staged Financing MUST Become Film BIz’s Immediate Goal
Towards A Sustainable Investor Class: A Portfolio Approach
TASIC: Accessing Quality Projects
TASIC: Deliver Risk Appropriate Rewards
TASIC: Preset Backstop Risk Mitigation
