Why I Believe Crowdfunding is the Best Place to Start for Indie Filmmakers...

In Great Britain, there's a common perception that films are funded by large corporate entities. Filmmakers or production companies present their scripts and budgets, and miraculously, cheques are written, and the cameras start rolling. However, my experience tells a different story.

I once believed that there were industry insiders who could easily greenlight projects. All I had to do was find them. While such individuals might exist, in my 36 years in the industry, I've only encountered one. Even he, a significant player in the UK TV industry, had to borrow £130K from the bank to fund my first movie. Investors like these are what we call Unicorns, and finding one is nothing short of a miracle.

After years of chasing deals and ending up in the same place (usually the gutter), I realized that to get my projects made, I needed alternative funding routes. In 2012, with the rise of the internet and social media, I discovered crowdfunding.

Before you abandon your business plan and start posting frantically on Facebook, hold on. Crowdfunding isn't just about putting your film on Kickstarter and waiting for millions to pour in. No, this approach won't work – and if you don't believe me, just try it!

It took me a while to understand crowdfunding. It's easy to fall into the trap of appearing desperate, begging for support. That approach NEVER works. Crowdfunding is about building a dream, a dream that means the world to you and one that you'll never stop working towards, no matter what. This dream is so inevitable that it will get done – and it's going to blow their socks off!

After making my first feature film, Written in Blood in 1996, I felt my dream of creating a Star Wars-like sci-fi epic in the UK was unlikely. I spent years pitching in London, at business angel networking events, even in Cannes and LA. People just weren't interested.

However, after attending memorabilia and Comicon events and pitching to sci-fi and genre fans, I just knew there was an audience for my film. What if I went directly to the fans and asked them to contribute small amounts? If I could find enough supporters, maybe it would add up to enough to make my film.

With this mindset, I realized that if I pushed hard enough and never stopped believing in myself and my projects, I could succeed. And I did. It took many years, but I decided to NEVER STOP until I completed my film, Invasion Planet Earth. After a challenging 10 years of work, my film made it to UK cinemas in 2019. I genuinely believe that Invasion Planet Earth is the biggest British indie sci-fi movie ever made (happy to be proven wrong if you know of a bigger British indie film not funded by a studio).

My motto to filmmakers or anyone with a seemingly impossible dream is this: whatever happens, you can always find a way. If you believe hard enough, work hard, keep pushing, and believe, the right people will find you, support you, and become your strongest allies. This has happened for this, I am extremely thankful. But trust me on this, stop chasing the deal and find the folks around you who really can help - and NEVER GIVE UP!

Now, you may have heard that I'm making a new, even bigger indie sci-fi film. If so, you'd be right. Check out Of Infinite Worlds, currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo: https://igg.me/at/OIWPhase5/x/395003#/

Thank you.

Simon

Simon Cox - Writer & Director, Invasion Planet Earth (2019) & Of Infinite Worlds (Coming Soon)