What Do Film Investors Need To Become A Sustainable Class

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By now I think you know that creating a Sustainable Investor Class For Indie Film is a priority for me.  I have been sharing my thoughts on a weekly basis in this regard for some time now.  Today is a good time to collect those thoughts and take stock as to where we are. Our future depends on us.

If you want to make films for the rest of your life, you not only need to help increase the pool of capital for such creative practices, but you also have to make sure that the money behaves in a smarter fashion than before. You can’t expect people to just do something because it makes sense.  Knowledge rarely influences behavior. To make change, you need to create a system.  That is the next step.

Right now, we can improve the knowledge base, and it is time we focused on the investor base. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that film support organizations tend to focus on only three legs of the film table: audiences, filmmakers, and industry (aka distribution & representation).  It makes sense that everything in indie film is now so off-balance.  It is time to build our investor class, and build it to last.

If you want to invest in film and want to be here for a good long time, what would be best practices for you and your kind?

Lucky for you, I have given this a little thought, and each link below you can click through to help you explore the 15 necessary concepts & challenges more in depth — but I know you like lists…

1. Institute a Staged Financing Ecosystem For Indie Film.
2. Increase transparency, access, education, and community in the investment side of the film biz.
3. Gain Access To Quality Projects
4. Maintain A Consistent And Robust Deal Flow.
5. Adopt A Portfolio Approach To Film Investing.
6. Make A Lot Of Small Bets, at least initially.
7. Have Disintrested Third Parties Vet & Affirm Your Projects.
8.  Facilitate Group Learning & Lift For Film Investors.
9. Set Up Backstop Platform Distribution Deals.
10. Deliver Returns Appropriate To The Risk.
11. Look For Something Beyond Just A Financial Return.
12. Have A Good Time Due To Your Film Investments.
13. Diverse & Deep Industry Knowledge.
14. Take A Significant Part Of The Equity Of Each Project.

There are other methods.  I have met a lot of people who have found the best way to not lose money in the film business… But if you are serious, you have to take risks.  And you will fail a lot.  I think the average these days for seasoned pickers is to have 1 in 8 projects do a 10X return.  We all know the joke that if you want to make a small fortune in the film biz, you need to start with a large one.  But frankly, I think that is the old way.

There is a better way.  We are building it better together.  We just need to follow these easy 14 steps I have laid out . Let’s walk that path of best practices.  I think there is a beautiful city where we can all live for a good long time at the end.