The Art of Film Funding

Remi Kessler began documenting homelessness in Los Angeles in 2015. He produced and directed THE ADVOCATES, a full-length feature documentary providing a sweeping look at the history and causes of LA’s homeless crisis and an intimate view of the tireless work of advocates striving to create better lives for their homeless clients. The film premiered at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival, followed by a successful festival run, multiple community screenings frequently moderated by Remi, and worldwide distribution and streaming.

Since THE ADVOCATES, Remi produced and directed a series of six films for UCLA and the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health which are utilized to educate social workers and graduate students on mental illness and homelessness. He is currently producing "Homele$$, Inc" on the high cost of housing and why is it so high?

 For more information about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Our special guest today is John Onderdonk, the Co-Founder and CEO of Flume TV, an innovative ad-supported streaming service dedicated to independent content. Prior to founding Flume TV, John accumulated five years of media strategy experience at Comcast NBCUniversal. During this tenure, he held roles in Corporate Development, Corporate Strategy, Cable FP&A, and NBCU Corporate Strategy and Business Development, with a focus on forming the company's direct-to-consumer streaming strategy. Currently based in Palo Alto, California, John is originally from Dallas, Texas. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently pursuing an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he also serves as the Student Body Co-President, leading various initiatives to enhance the student experience and foster a vibrant community. Today we’ll discuss Flume TV.

Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema. Kinema revolutionizes how films are distributed, opening new opportunities for filmmakers and studios to reach their audiences and maximizing revenue through screening tours, virtual events, and TVOD.

Christie has won several industry recognitions, including being named one of Fortune’s Rising Female Founders in 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2021. Currently she is managing Kinema and has just released the Distribution Playbook for filmmakers.  https://thedistributionplaybook.notion.site

To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Jonathon M. Smith, is an actor/writer/producer who has been involved in the film industry for over 15 years Recently he produced, starred, and wrote an independent feature that is part of the Amazon Prime catalog called "Broken City."

At this time, Jonathon is currently producing and starring in a vertical series called "Collapse of America." He hopes to discover new trends with the series and show the industry a fresh way to deliver content and great stories to modern audiences. It will be released in all major social media platforms next month. 

Free Class: Jonathon also has a special promotion for From The Heart members. It's an exclusive free film financing course that will teach you different ways to raise money for your short films and features. 

Click the link, click I want this, and enter "FROMTHEHEART" as the discount code to receive it for free: https://malibucinema.gumroad.com/l/filmfunding

The information that Largo provides is an invaluable tool for pitching your film to investors and distributors, hiring crew, and making casting decisions.

A recent case study found that having a Largo report can improve salability of a project by up to 300%. We believe that major streaming platforms are increasingly prioritizing projects that have strong analysis based financial forecasts and other key metrics the system provides. 

The information in the report lets a potential distributor or investor know exactly what the project might be worth to them and how to most successfully package it. Largo can tell you how an audience will react to your film and characters emotionally, which is a strong indicator of audience engagement that all distributors want. It can show you if the emotion dips in a certain scene or if your characters are likable and relatable or not. It will show how your film compares to other similar films in many different metrics so that distributors can clearly see the market potential. 

If you would like to contact Alex reach out through his email at [email protected]

To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Brynn Lucas is an award-winning producer with extensive expertise in post-production supervision, delivery, electronic press kit (EPK), and feature film development and production. She has led numerous successful projects to completion, leveraging her deep knowledge in music videos, film production, and documentaries. Her client list includes Independent Filmmakers, Studios such as WB, Universal, and Paramount, Major Streamers like Hulu, Netflix, and Apple, and Sales Teams/Distributors such as Studio Canal, S&R Films, Saban Films, and Lionsgate. ([email protected])

To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Our special guest today is Sarah Moshman, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Netflix, PBS, Upworthy, Marie Claire, CNN, and Good Morning America. Sarah has directed and produced 3 feature-length documentaries: The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, Losing Sight of Shore, and Nevertheless. She has also directed several narrative shorts including Unbound and A Mother is Born. Sarah is dedicated to telling stories that uplift, inform and inspire as well as showcase strong and complex female role models on screen. Sarah is honored to be the Artistic Director of the non-profit arts and filmmaking organization Look what SHE Did! and the leader of their newest filmmaking program for women over 30: Look what SHE’s Doing! Today we’ll discuss her career and focus on her documentary, Losing Sight of Shore.

We have two employees of Ramo Law with us today.  Tiffany Boyle, Tiffany connects filmmakers with producers, co-producers, executive producers, co-finance partners, distributors, agencies and other industry representatives. She hasbrought in financing or leading sales on films such as Paul Schrader's ”The Card Counter.”

Stuart Arbury collaborates with clients to review, develop, package, and take-out series projects, both scripted and unscripted. Stuart draws on his diverse professional background to marry the creative and business needs of a potential series and actively helps clients navigate an ever-changing episodic landscape.

To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Meet filmmaker Gillian Greenfeld who holds a BA in anthropology from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in documentary from Ryerson University.  Currently, she is just finishing up co-directing "Phoolan," a feature documentary on the life of Phoolan Devi, India’s celebrated feminist “Bandit Queen.” The film is now in post-production and set to be released in the new year (https://phoolandevimovie.com/). Gillian is also the president of Cielo Films, a newly-launched independent film company aiming to produce thought-provoking films on women’s rights.

To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Fred Siegel is an indie film, tax, and business consultant and founder of Fred Siegel, CPA (1997, NYC), a premium, boutique consulting/CPA firm specializing in key tax and business issues for producers and dealing with the business of film, from development through distribution.  Primary practice areas are Consulting, Financing, Deal Structures, Film Tax Credits, Taxation, Accounting.  Working almost entirely with indie filmmakers and their production and development companies, and with a focus on consulting, the firm provides a range of "niche" film tax, tax credit, accounting, and business services for indie filmmakers throughout the U.S.. Fred has worked with indie filmmakers for over 30 years, including highly acclaimed filmmakers such as Christine Vachon ("Past Lives;" "Still Alice;" "Boys Don't Cry"); Chris Smith ("Branson;" "Sr.;" "Tiger King;" "100 Foot Wave;" "Fyre;" "American Movie");  Debra Granik ("Winters Bone,") and many others, as well as filmmakers in the earlier stages of their careers.  Fred is a graduate of Columbia University and began his public accounting career at a "Big 4" firm. Earlier in his professional life, Fred was a jazz musician and an entrepreneur, those experiences infusing his professional work today with an independent spirit, conceptual approach, and artistic bent and an understanding of the life of an artist/producer and the world of business and the interplay between the two. 

To learn more about Fred Siegel visit www.fredsiegelcpa.com

For more info about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com