ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

7 years, 4 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

I once seriously thought about investing in other people's films, when I had more money. The problem was, I told one guy I was interested, and he told all his friends (his friends had really, really stupid projects, or wanted jobs that I couldn't give them.)

Most film investors aren't looking to invest the entire amount themselves. If you invest in low budget, it's often small amounts (from £100 to £2000). Even in five million pound films, you're looking at investors who invest maybe 5k to 50k. (I was going to invest 1k in a five million feature, before I found out who the director was.) For investments larger than that, you're looking for investment clubs, or billionaires who don't have time for social media.

If I ever considered investing again, I'd probably look more toward outfits like MollyFilm than at people here who have only made short films. No offense to the people here, but features are an entirely different animal, and just because you can make an awesome short (or killer documentary) doesn't mean you can make a commercial feature. It's like running a sprint versus a three-year full-time marathon.

Also, a lot of the projects here just aren't my kind of film. I'd look at investing in the kinds of movies that aren't getting into the cinema or festivals, underserved audiences that I'm a part of. Films that the Muslim mother who walked out of Avatar during that lame seance, and the couple who laughed to start but then walked out of Toni Erdmann could enjoy.

(I'd probably consider co-founding a start up instead, as I prefer to be hands on, to have a say on how my money is spent, and to be in the action. Actually, that's what I've been looking at doing for a long time, a start up that focuses on uplifting, intelligent films, like a British low-budget Studio Ghibli with live action.)

7 years, 4 months ago - AndBut Films

Jane, we all wish you would get hundreds of answers. But the silence this past month speaks.
Whatever the quality of projects on offer, if few funders are among the readership you won't get a response.
A more practical question on shootingpeople.org might be Are there any producers on here?

Or people who want to learn to be producers, to put together projects to make them marketable and then find the resources to produce them?

Any Shooters think your calling might be that?

filmpartners@andbut.co.uk

7 years, 4 months ago - Jane Sanger

Thank you vasco and AndBut Films for your answers. I have been trying for 3 years to learn about and trying to fund my first feature. I have successfully funded 11 shorts but you are right funding features is massively harder particularly the first as I have no commercial back record. Yes of course other filmmakers/producers keep their investors to themselves, so do I because everyone wants to know them. Very daft if your friend vasco to share your info.
I have put together over 200 sources of funding for shorts and I am slowly building a resource for features. Yes no one funds it all and at Cannes on a course I was told the average £1 million film has 17 sources at least.
So in my list of funding for features I have just listed private investors as one source, no way am I telling who mine are. I have 5.
I make films Vasco with depth I hope, always with a social message on an issue that needs discussion . My film is in the horror/genre as this is commercial but has the message of the dangers of internet dating.i have 2 good producers and yes this is a way of getting funds because producers do know people. So Vasco if you want complete discretion and to think about being involved I am not green lit yet so please email me on info@luminofilms.co.uk to see how you can be involved if you want to try Shaun. I have sales attached.

7 years, 4 months ago - Jane Sanger

I hate predictive text -Shaun should say again!

7 years, 3 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

Jane,
If you have sales attached, then surely the distributors would rather buy your films outright (or at least pre-buy the territories). It's more expensive for them if they have to pay off investors.

As I said, I don't have money to invest right now. If I did, I'd invest it in my own films, as I have plenty of scripts. (And people think of me as a writer.) As for horror being "commercial", that's a myth that academic horror fans dissimulate. It's no more commercial than any other genre, and probably has the highest percentage of failures.

If you don't believe me that horror isn't a great genre, try doing post production some time. So many clueless people try to make horror films, and then think they can fix it in post. Maybe you could find investors who never tried to edit one.

If you have five investors, go to them and ask them to let others in their network know you're looking for investors. So many films were financed from one investor who brought aboard his/her friends.