How to Find an Investor for Your Movie

You have a great movie idea, and you’re just dying to start production, but you find yourself missing that one key thing: money! You’re not alone. As if finishing a screenplay wasn’t already hard enough, figuring out how to go about getting your project funded is a challenge for all independent filmmakers. Today, I want to give you some advice on how to find an investor for your movie. Let’s get that screenplay produced!

When you think of movie investors, you’re probably thinking that they’re primarily residing in Los Angeles. So, here’s your first big “ah-ha” moment: I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be based in LA to find an investor. Still, you’re going to have to put in some work to find investors because they don’t just make themselves known in some database. You’re going to need to network, research, and puzzle out people who’d be interested in your project and who would make for good potential investors.

Where to Find Movie Investors:

IMDb

The Internet Movie Database is always a helpful first stop when looking for working industry professionals. Try searching for films similar in genre, concept, and budget to yours. Then take a look at the complete list of the cast and crew. Producers credited with “executive producer” or “co-executive producer” are the people you’re looking for as they’ve likely invested their own money into the film or have helped arranged the film’s financing.

State or City Film Offices

For a filmmaker, it’s never a bad idea to network and get to know your state or city’s local film commission. Thanks to filmmaking tax incentives, they work with productions filming in the area to process those deals. They’re likely familiar with investors, and you never know what sorts of introductions or connections you can make just by reaching out to them and asking for help.

Entertainment Lawyers

Entertainment lawyers work with investors all the time. If you find yourself befriending or becoming the client of an entertainment lawyer, who knows what kind of networking connections could come from it!

Local Arts Philanthropists

Are there any local philanthropy organizations near you? Try looking into donors to arts programs in your area; maybe a donor will take an interest in your film.

Startup Investors

Tech startup conferences could provide you with the opportunity to meet a potential film investor. People looking to invest in the risky world of tech startups are often also willing to invest in the risky world of entertainment. There is a parallel there.

Friends and Family

While none of us wants to be indebted to friends or family, crowdfunding is a way to lessen the burden of asking people we know for money. You can use a crowdfunding platform not only to pitch your vision but keep people who have invested in your project updated on its progress. It’s a fun way for people to get involved, and you may be surprised at how many people want to support you and see you succeed! Plus, they’ll share in the profit somehow – whether that’s a portion of box office success or a special mention in the credits.

Before approaching investors, you need to make sure that your script is in the best shape possible. To go along with your solid script, you need a solid pitch. When talking about your project, you want to bring energy and excitement to it! You want to show potential investors that you’re passionate and eager to get this movie made.

While it’s essential to have a great script and a great pitch, it’s just as important to show that you’re fiscally conscious and have a sound business plan when it comes to investors. A well-thought-out business plan is sure to impress investors and convey that you’re serious and professional. Your business plan should include your budget, box office comparisons, investment return, and production timeline. I highly recommend researching business plans to have a more specific idea of how to go about creating one.

Hopefully, this blog was able to guide you in the direction of some steps to take when finding an investor for your movie. Getting funding for a film is no small undertaking; it’s going to require research, preparation, persistence, and some hustle, but you can do it! All that hard work is sure to pay off when you find yourself in production, filming your movie. Keep working at it. Happy creating!