The Art of Film Funding

Send us Fan Mail

Our special guests today are the award-winning filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum. Sabine and Zeva co-directed the NEH supported documentary Letters from Baghdad, which was edited by Sabine and produced by Zeva. Letters from Baghdad screened in the US in over 70 venues and was broadcast on PBS, ARTE and the BBC. Sabine’s numerous editing credits also include the Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nominated My Architect, for which she received an American Cinema Editor’s Eddie Award nomination and the Emmy-winning The Hunt for Planet B. In addition to producing Letters from Bagdad, Zeva also produced Ahead of Time, a feature length documentary about journalist Ruth Gruber, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before garnering six Best Documentary awards. She comes to film from a career in still photography and her work has been published in periodicals such as The New York Times Magazine. Her photographs are also in collections such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The Brooklyn Museum. Today we will discuss Obsessed with Light, a documentary about Loïe Fuller, co-directed and co-produced by Sabine and Zeva.

Send us Fan Mail

With Guest Erik Gordon from FilmHedge

FILM & TV FINANCING, DONE BETTER

Streamlined financing platform that provides filmmakers with the funds they need to bring their creative visions to life—quickly and reliably.

At FilmHedge, we're revolutionizing the way stories are brought to life by reshaping the film and television financing landscape. As a trusted partner, we provide senior debt financing for productions with budgets ranging from $3 million to $50 million. Our proprietary database, the largest of its kind, offers unparalleled insights into production financial data and credit history, empowering smarter decisions for all stakeholders.’

Send us Fan Mail

Send us Fan Mail

Marc Iserlis is the Head of Film at Republic, an investment platform that lets everyone –both accredited and non-accredited investors–invest in private market opportunities like startups, films, sports, gaming, real estate, and beyond, and share in the financial upside. Republic boasts a community of nearly 3 million members, and has deployed over $2.6 billion through its investment platforms, funds, and firms. 

Marc leads Republic's newly-launched film financing vertical, Republic Film, which enables fans to invest directly in their favorite filmmakers' new projects, and share in their success. Success stories from Republic Film include Skybound Entertainment (The Walking Dead, Invincible), Pressman Film (American Psycho, Wall Street), and Robert Rodriguez's Brass Knuckle Films, which have raised tens of millions of dollars from their global fanbases. 

Marc is also a film and TV producer whose credits include Hotel Mumbai, Gone in the Night, Late Bloomers, Daliland, and About a Hero.

Send us Fan Mail

Our special guest today is Jason Perlman. Named #4 in LA Weekly's "Top 10 Entertainment Professionals to Watch in 2023," Jason is an accomplished screenwriter, director, producer and editor. He has worked with major television outlets and studios like Warner Bros, Sony, and Lionsgate. His material has screened at prestigious festivals such as Sundance and SXSW. As a WGA screenwriter, Jason's work in both features and TV is always high-concept and about superheroes, but not in the way you think. When consistently adapting IP, or in his prolific original work— Perlman focuses on grounded characters forced to challenge their human capacity and reach for the profound. In a word, Inspiration, our true superpower. Today we’ll discuss his new Sci Fi thriller, SITE, which is his second feature film as both screenwriter and director.

Send us Fan Mail

Breianne Pryse has been a coach, writer, inventor, healer, investor, spiritual advisor and guide in the physical and spiritual healing arts for 23+ years. She has recently moved into business coaching and leadership roles in her job as a startup investor. 

She has had training in energetic modalities including Theta Healing, Pyranic Healing, energy psychology, animal healing, holistic allergy removal, and others even becoming a teacher in Divine Intervention, Light Language and other practices.

Send us Fan Mail

Beth Basa Pielert is a Producer, Director, and writer of television and documentary films. She co-produced and co-directed Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life with Darrell Hillaire, Executive Director of the Lummi media company Children of the Setting Sun Productions and Vision Maker Media. The film is now airing on PBS through WORLD Local U.S.A. 

Pielert formed Good Film Works in 2001 while writing and directing Out of the Poison Tree, a documentary that explores truth and reconciliation for survivors of the Cambodian Genocide. Under Good Film Works, Pielert produced documentary shorts for Apple Inc., IDEO|bedsider.org, and Bay Area nonprofits that help provide transitional housing and services for the unhoused.

Her documentary credits include: The Corporation, winner of over 24 International awards including the Sundance Audience Award in 2004, Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics on Trial, winner of 6 awards including best documentary at Palm Springs International Short Fest 2009.

Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life can be seen Streaming on YouTube World Channel

https://www.YOUTUBE.com/watch?v=soJ-De4osic

Send us Fan Mail

Irina Chernikina is a filmmaker with over two decades of experience in producing, directing, writing, and editing. She has led multiple projects from development through post-production, focusing on narrative filmmaking.

Her recent work includes directing and producing the comedy series Being Bossy (2021) and an ongoing anthology series Bedtime Stories (2020-), where she also served as writer and editor. In 2024 Irina produced two feature films - a thriller Smile Maker and a horror Legado. She is currently developing a comedy feature Bum Next Door, which has a pre-sale offer from Glass House Distribution, along with Knockout, a female-driven action film, and Circulus Initium, a sci-fi action series.

In addition to narrative projects, Irina has worked on commercials, music videos, and educational content. Her experience across multiple aspects of production allows her to efficiently manage and execute projects while maintaining a clear creative vision. She currently manages the Film Funding Group with her partners Matt Chassin and Randy Fabert.

Send us Fan Mail

Rachel Antell has worked in documentary film production for over two decades but found her true passion in archival producing. In 2014 she co-founded Sub-Basement Archival, where she’s had the honor of being archival producer on dozens of documentaries that have screened worldwide, and garnered FOCAL Awards and an Emmy nomination for research and use of archival footage. In 2023, Rachel co-founded the Archival Producers Alliance (APA) with Jen Petrucelli and Steph Jenkins. 

The APA was created to organize archival producers, educate the film community about the craft, and advocate to make archival materials accessible and affordable to independent filmmakers. The APA's first initiative addresses Generative AI’s impact on documentary film and archival work. Last year, the APA published the first industry-wide guidelines, Best Practices for Use of Generative AI in Documentaries, with endorsements from over 50 organizations, foundations, production companies, and film festivals, as well as dozens of filmmakers.

Send us Fan Mail

As a Producer, she has developed both film and TV series with Madonna's Maverick Entertainment, The Jim Henson Company, and The Pitt Group. Her producing credits include the Internet TV series Payday, based on hit video game
"Payday 2"; 35 Days of Kevin Eastman a documentary on the co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the multi-award-winning Cinemascope feature film Valhalla; and as a partner in 88 Tranzmedia - Agent 88, which garnered worldwide press, including the front page of the LA Times.