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Big Art, Little Debt

Was a time when the filmmaker’s strategy began with the gamble of maxed out credit cards and (hopefully) ended with the win of an acquisition bidding war at Sundance or the like. However, with the number of festival film buys shrinking and the cash amounts garnered by the lucky few doing likewise, what’s a filmmaker to do to avoid ending up in a financial hole they may well never climb out of?

Esther B. Robinson has, if not found the solution, presented a well thought out strategy in her Big Art, Little Debt Plan for Filmmaker Magazine. The plan comprises three commandments; 1) Make work that matters, 2) Get right with thy personal cash & 3) Know and keep to thy limits, coupled with five steps to help you adhere to them.

Filmmaker Magazine have also been running the filmmaker responses to the questions Esther initially posed when formulating the plan.

via Jonathan Goodman Levitt

• Yes to nofilmschool
• Top 10 Sundance Documentaries of the Decade
• This Decade is About the Filter
• The Extended Take
• The Coming Revolution in Indie Distribution

Author: MarBelle

MarBelle has a strange compulsion to watch as many films as he can get his hands on and find jobs that give him a legitimate excuse to drill filmmakers about their work. Directors Notes is the latest incarnation of this disorder and so much cheaper than film school. Twitter: @MarBelle

Tags: Article, Financing