New Initiative Launches to Help Finance Memphis Independent Films

“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”  That phrase represents one of the influences for filmmakers and a new non-profit organization whose goal is to promote the Memphis independent film industry by connecting filmmakers with investors.  Fuel Film Memphis, powered by Launch Memphis, recognized a void when it came to Memphis filmmakers doing what they loved but also having to pay the bills.  As a result, they are holding an open conversation about entrepreneurship and filmmaking, Thursday, November 19, 2009 at Otherlands Café at 7:30 p.m.   http://filmstorm.eventbrite.com

The event, called “Film Storm: Creative Conversations about Entrepreneurship and Independent Film,” which is being sponsored by the Memphis Film Commission, will consist of a brainstorming session on the development, funding and marketing of independent films in today’s marketplace.   Fuel Film recognized that although the digital revolution greatly decreased the cost of producing a film, to have a successful and sustainable career in filmmaking, cash is still king.

“The problem is not the lack of ideas or creativity,” says Matt Beickert, one of the founders of Fuel Film, “the problem is a lack of funding options to not only produce a film, but to actually promote it.”

An independent film movement has definitely been brewing for many years.  The days that film producers wait to be picked up by a distributor and give away all of their rights with minuscule profits, if any, are slowly fading away.  They are looking outside of Hollywood for solutions, reaching their core audiences in unconventional ways via the Internet and word of mouth.  They are also looking for financing outside of the very closed Hollywood system.

Fuel Film, powered by Launch Memphis, is a new initiative engaged in promoting growth of the Memphis film industry through education of Filmmakers, Producers, and Investors.

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