How to PROFITABLY Invest In Indie Film

~ Part 3 ~

Going back to Part I of this little series, what the investors I talk to care about can be put into three "buckets":

Impact and influence on the type of films available in the marketplace
Legacy - what they’ll leave behind
Alignment - they want to invest in things that match their values and the future they want to live in

But there are current fears and frustrations, as well as obstacles in the way of getting these outcomes.

So I asked myself: What if we could create profitable, data-backed film investments, made by trusted professional filmmakers, with a structure that perfectly aligns with investors' goals—all built on a scalable, repeatable process?

The answer became clear: a carefully structured investment fund designed specifically for sophisticated investors seeking both returns and impact.

That's what I set out to create a few years ago...

I had just returned from producing The Carpenter during the summer of 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (The film ultimately secured distribution through Purdie Distribution, and was released in November, 2024.) We had the next project in mind, a little indie script titled Angels In The Mine, the true story of a boy who was lost in a mine in Utah in 1989, and the efforts and faith of a community who felt compelled to find him.

We had a financial partner ready to back the project, and we started scouting locations and lining up production partners like a cinematographer and cast.

And then...the partner pulled the funding. On the day we were supposed to start pre-production.

I remember the shock—the disbelief that someone would pull out like that. But beneath that shock was a deeper realization: I'd placed myself at the mercy of someone who could erase years of work with a single decision.

"Never again"... I thought.

On every single project I'd had experiences like this - that boggled the mind - whether it was around the financing, the production, the distribution, or the (lack of) marketing.

I saw filmmakers (who I love and look up to, mind you) make decisions that seemed in direct opposition to their - and their investor's - best interest.

My mental list of "things I would do differently" grew from a handful to dozens. Einstein's definition of insanity echoed in my mind: "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." I wasn't willing to go insane—I needed a fundamentally different approach.

I started from first principles (that you read in Part 2) about how profitable businesses are created. I learned everything I could about Demand-Side Selling and the process of becoming Oversubscribed - and captured it all along the way, ending up with an entire book on the subject.

(Be sure to read to the end of the page and I'll send you a link to read the book online.)

What I ended up with was a film fund: Producer Fund I.

It would be a way to produce family-friendly, values-based feature films that change people for the better. Films that spark conversation, that you want to watch with the whole family and that your kids will watch in 30 years because they're that good.

We'd produce them in a way that made investors money—real returns that bring them back again and again because the model works. And that means filmmakers get what they want too: the chance to make more movies.

Because we own the whole value chain, we can spend time developing movies before putting them into production. We'll build an audience that compounds with each new release. We'll retain ownership of the films rather than sell them to the studios and streamers. And we'll take what we learn from each film into the next one, and the next one, and the next one.

This structure does something magical: it maximizes upside while systematically limiting downside risk.

We're looking for investors who care about the impact that films can have to change the world, who want to be a part of a new, truly independent film ecosystem, and who want to have a genuinely transformative experience doing it.

If that's you—if you're nodding along right now—then I'm genuinely glad we've found each other. I can't wait to show you what we've built.

For qualified investors, we have a detailed prospectus that outlines:

Complete financial projections
Our film selection methodology
Distribution strategies and partnerships
The full investment terms
Our management team's track record

Check out Producer Fund I and schedule an intro call on my calendar (or email daren@producer.fund and we’ll set one up!) If you'd like a complimentary copy of my book, Blockbuster, sign up here and I'll send you a link: