Seeking Support For Your First Feature Film

Sart here: Seeking Support For Your First Feature Film

Learn how to transfer your vision and passion for what you're making to potential collaborators, supporters and funders.

There’s no magic formula to get your first independent feature film off the ground, but the essential first step is being able to transfer your vision and passion for what you’re making to potential collaborators, supporters and funders. This interactive workshop will help you learn the skills needed to put your project’s best foot forward, so you can find the right team and stakeholders to take the journey with you.

We’ll cover generally applicable advice like what a realistic timeline and scope might look like for a first film, what potential early supporters like labs or grantmakers will look for in your script and written descriptions, and how you can convey your creative intentions and ability to execute them through elements like your sample work, lookbook and budget. We’ll also discuss how to leverage the relationships and resources you may already have (like access to talent, a key location, equipment, or your own investment) to build momentum, when and how to identify and approach a producer and other key creative team members, and how to target relevant gatekeepers and opportunities for critical support or financing like labs and conferences.

Bring your questions and/or any written or visual promotional materials you may have to the first session so that the workshop can be tailored to participants’ specific needs and opportunities for improvement.

This workshop will be most beneficial if you are a director or producer working with at least a first draft of a screenplay in-hand, whether or not you are the screenwriter, or the rights to a specific book, story or other pre-existing property being adapted for the screen.

Curriculum Plan

• Session 1: Bring any specific challenges, questions, and promotional materials you have so far, and receive an overview of the elements you should be generating (like budget, synopsis, lookbook and sample work), how to make them as persuasive as possible, and what to expect on the difficult journey to launching a first feature.

• Session 2: Based upon questions and materials shared in the first session, Reva will hone in on key materials in depth, and help participants strategize how best to achieve them. 

• Session 3: This session will give participants tactics to identify potential collaborators and sources of support and funding that could make sense for their projects, and strategies for pursuing them. This process is usually more a marathon than a sprint, so we’ll also discuss how to cultivate relationships and resources over time, and what to do if you keep getting “no” or “not right now.”

This class is part of ClassWork Film Track: Indie Producing, a sequence of classes that can be taken over a three-month period with experienced instructors guiding you through the ins and outs of producing your film.

What You Will Learn

• Start with realistic expectations, and essential tools, to set up your first feature project.

• Identify what is important for you to focus on at this early stage if your time and resources are limited.

• Develop the essential materials you need to get potential collaborators and supporters excited about your project.

• Start building a team that can help you achieve your goals.

• Identify potential sources of support and funding that make sense for your project, and a plan to connect with them.