I recently had the privilege of moderating an empowerment-themed panel at the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival.  The panel, “Getting Indie Films Funded; A Dying Art Form?” featured star Indie producers Frida Torresblanco (Braven Films) and Lisa Cortes (Cortes Films), production company execs Morris Levy (M.E.G.A. Films), Jamin O’Brien (Worldview Entertainment), and music-film integration pioneer Jonathan McHugh (Island/Def Jam Music Group).  Though the panelists hailed from diverse sectors of the industry, they were united in their message to the audience: bring a great script to the table along with a “no holds barred” empowerment attitude and anything is possible.

Morris Levy opened the panel by delving into the nuts and bolts of financing an independent film.  He stressed that while unique projects can be appealing from the creative side, a film financing company will have more to offer to a project that has the capability of appealing to a broad audience.  Levy also elaborated on the value that strong package elements (cast, director, script) bring to a film.  He noted that the strength of the package is critical in determining the source and volume of financing for a project.

Jamin O’Brien tackled the title of the panel head on.  “Funding Indies isn’t a dying art form, it’s an evolving one.” He discussed the importance of structured finance, noting that securing alternative financing methods has become more prevalent given the difficulty in raising equity.  Jamin explained how a filmmaker could still exploit the international marketplace to pre-sell foreign territories and raise capital.  While stressing that he was associated with a more traditional, risk-averse distribution company, O’Brien also touched on the viability of self-distribution for today’s empowered filmmaker.  He focused on the fact that fewer films are being sold at festivals today, and that advances have shrunk even for films that are sold.  As a consequence, building print and advertising costs into a film budget is essential for a filmmaker or producer today.

Lisa Cortes expanded upon this alternative financing idea by stressing the need for grassroots buzz-building for today’s filmmakers to get a project financed. She assured the attendees that investment dollars are out there.  An empowered filmmaker today has to sell a project to potential investors as an alternative to the stock market or other investments that may be earning diminished returns.  Cortes also stated that an integral part of self-distribution and financing is to become expert with the project’s target audience.  In particular, Cortes recommended scheduling a roadtrip of meet and greets to the film’s potential audience, and contacting organizations or prominent people within that audience as vital to self-distribution and financing today.

Jonathan McHugh discussed financing from the crossroads of film and music and gave examples where casting music artists helped attract financing.  He cautioned filmmakers to pick the project and the cast surrounding the proposed music artist very carefully.  Noting that it can be very difficult for a music artist to act for the first time, he suggested surrounding the artist with experienced talent to relieve pressure on that production.  McHugh also advised new filmmakers not to disregard the happiness of the crew during shooting.  He stated that unfortunately a film set can sometimes be poisoned by the unhappiness of a few key people.  Problems can arise from something as simple as making sure the right food is on the craft services table for the crew.  As McHugh said of the crew, “They work hard too, don’t forget about them.”

Braven Film’s Frida Torresblanco discussed the ability of a film to break barriers and touch people beyond North America and across the globe.  She championed the importance of projects that have universal themes that people can recognize and relate to.  “There is no reason an independent film cannot be well made AND popular,” said Torresblanco.  She continued on, saying that the quality of the script and understanding the potential audience for the film were paramount to any project’s viability.  Torresblanco also emphasized the fact that while today’s marketplace has created many challenges, it has spawned an equal number of opportunities for the empowered filmmaker. Social media and other internet-based resources have created new avenues for self-distribution, and websites such as Filmannex.com have stepped up to fill the need in this arena.  Torresblanco stressed that a filmmaker must possess the fortitude to overcome challenges and see a project through to completion.  Often the process can be long and rejection-filled, but without the will to carry the project to completion the chance of success is zero.

The audience members asked some pointed and relevant questions.  One question in particular focused on the use of social media when pursuing self-distribution.  The panel agreed that simply posting a movie on the internet and sending out facebook messages was helpful but not sufficient to achieve critical mass.  Instead, budgeting production dollars for P&A, and combining that with a targeted online marketing campaign that stretches over several months was far more effective in generating buzz about a film.

Though each panelist had a unique view of the current state of indie financing, their message was clear.  If the script is top-notch, and the filmmaker has the drive to never stop working until the project succeeds, then nothing is impossible.

Please give us your opinions or comments based upon your experience.  I hope to see you at the film events in the months to come.  Feel free to email me with questions and comments: beers@gtlaw.com.