How To Host Film Investor Events
The film industry is built on relationships. More specifically, the independent film industry is built on relationships with investors.
But here's what most filmmakers never learn: the system you build to connect with investors matters more than your enthusiasm for your film.
One of the best ways I’ve found to connect with many investors at once is through events. In this post I’ll share two types of events you can integrate into your fundraising strategy, as well as the psychology that gets investors to show up.
If you’re an investor, these events give you a low-stakes opportunity to see what options are available in the marketplace right now, connect with filmmakers that are making things happen, and deepen your understanding of the industry.
In-Person Events
My favorite events are in-person events. They provide a better opportunity for networking and socializing than virtual ones, and there is a much higher chance of serendipity.
To host an in-person event, you need a few key elements:
- A venue
- A program
- A reason for people to show up
- Bonus: Sponsors!
Most filmmakers make the mistake of thinking investors will attend just to hear about their film. They won't. The value exchange has to be dramatically in their favor before they'll consider showing up.
In January 2025, to kick off the fundraising for Producer Fund I, I hosted a “Utah Film Investor Summit” on the first Tuesday of the Sundance Film Festival. For the venue, I contacted my friend Marshall who runs the Utah Film Studios in Park City. I knew this would help attract people who had never had a chance to visit a studio, or this specific studio, before.
I asked three of my friends - an investor, a writer-director, and a producer-marketer to participate in a 20 minute panel on the opportunities they see in indie film. I called my long-time friend Ryan Innes and asked him to play a few songs to kick off the night. And I decided to finish the program with the pitch for Producer Fund I.
All-in-all, the event was two hours long, and the program looked like this:
5-5:30 - Arrive and mingle
5:30-5:45 - Ryan Innes plays
5:45-6 - Indie Film Panel
6-6:15 - Pitch for Producer Fund I
6:15-7 - Networking and tours of the Utah Film Studio
The night flowed naturally between these segments. Even though we didn't hit the exact times, the structure kept the event moving and left investors feeling their time was respected.
The “reason people would show up” is always the hardest part to crack, but also the reason you’ll have a successful event or a dud.
The reasons for people to come were:
- Opportunity to learn about indie film and Producer Fund I
- Chance to tour the Utah Film Studio
- Personal invites from me
An event is an “offer” just like your other products and services, so you have to think about the demand side aspects as well. What progress are investors looking to make? What do they wish they knew or had that they currently don’t? That becomes your opportunity to create tension: “If I don’t go to this event, I’m going to miss out!”
The system matters more than your enthusiasm. A mediocre film pitch delivered through an excellent event system will outperform a brilliant pitch with poor execution every time.
This isn't just theory. It's the difference between filmmakers who consistently secure funding and those who are perpetually "almost funded." Let me show you what this looks like in practice:
Relying solely on a few social media posts to get people to show up rarely works unless you have a large enough audience and more demand than capacity. I knew the space we’d be in could hold around 150 people, but that’s also more than I’d be able to connect with at an event like this. I’d hosted a producer meetup in the same space three months prior, and was only able to connect with about 10 of the 80 people that showed up, so my goal was 50-60 people attending.
Historically, I get between 40-60% of my RSVPs to show up, so I figured I’d invite enough people to get 100 RSVPs and have 50-60 show. That’s exactly how it played out.
This is systems thinking in action. I didn't hope for random success, I engineered it based on predictable patterns.
I used Lu.ma to handle the registrations and check-ins, and asked an up-and-coming producer friend to help with that process in exchange for an invite to the event (I invited a few “cool” industry people, but 90% of those on the guest lists were investors).
If you don’t have a huge network of investors follow this simple process:
- Hop on LinkedIn
- Search for “angel investor”
- Narrow the search to your city or area
- Start connecting and messaging people that could be a good fit
This isn't about cold pitching - it's about building relationships. Think of this as development for your investor network, not just for your film.
You’ll want to do this part months in advance, not days, because you’ll need time to build real relationships with people.
A simple message like, “Hey [Name], thanks for connecting! I’m hosting an event for investors interested in learning about indie film on the [date] at [cool location] and wanted to personally invite you and a +1. Here’s a link with more details: (lu.ma link)”
Follow up with those that don’t respond or RSVP once or twice as many times people don’t see DMs.
One other note is that as soon as you connect with someone on LinkedIn, you can click on the Contact Info link on their profile and often it will show their email, so you can message them that way as well.
Now, with your venue, program, and guest list, how do you make it an over-the-top event?
Sponsors!
Sponsors are a great way to connect interested businesses with your audience of attendees. Who would benefit from getting in front of a room of 100 investors?
For my event in January, I had a churro company and a flavor-infused soda company both do pop-up booths and serve the group the whole night. In exchange, they got three minutes to share a little about their company, and include their business cards in the stack that we gave to investors.
The venue also ended up being a sponsor, gifting us the space for free in exchange for giving tours. What was a benefit for me in giving people a reason to come, was also a benefit for them in being able to show interested producers an amazing filming space.
Again, systems thinking creates wins for everyone involved. Nothing is random when you approach fundraising systematically.
All-in, the cost for the night was $200 for the setup and cleaning fee, plus $100 for some custom money clips that had Producer Fund I engraved on them, which held my business card as well as those of the sponsors.
The result? We had 3 people from that event commit to the fund, totaling over $50k. My goal was much higher (seven figures), but a few of the “high net worth investors” that had RSVPd didn’t end up coming because of conflicting schedules, but I was able to easily follow-up with them after the event.
Which brings me to the last point for events - “the fortune is in the follow up!”
Many filmmakers make the mistake of thinking the event itself is the finish line. It's not. It's the starting line.
Don’t just have the event and then move on. Spend the next month following up with everyone who attended, who didn’t attend, who should have got an invite but didn’t, anyone you can think of!
My wife took video of the night and I put that pitch here on the site so I have an asset to point people to in the months since the event.
Each event becomes an asset in your system, not just a one-time opportunity. The footage, connections, and insights all feed into your ongoing fundraising flywheel.
Don’t just host an event, use it as a kick-off for your fundraising strategy. You can even repeat every 3-6 months if you need or want to.
Virtual Events
Virtual events are similar to in-person in that you need a “venue”, a program, and a reason for people to show up.
But the reason can’t be “networking” because, even if you did breakout rooms, it’s just not the same or as effective. There’s something about the in-person events that make those connections stronger than meeting people online.
Your “venue” is your hosting platform of choice. Zoom works just fine, and there are plenty of competitors that exist to host live events or webinars virtually.
But, again, Zoom works just fine, people already have it, they know how to use it, and it is robust to host dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people.
Just make sure you pay for an account so you can remove the 40-minute limit!
Your program is typically what will give people a reason to show up. They want to learn something, make progress, deepen their understanding, ask questions, etc.
So hosting a monthly “Introduction to Indie Film” event is a great way to start. You’re helping them learn about indie film investing, rather than asking them for money. Most people, in that context, would opt not to show up because showing up would signal interest, which they aren’t yet ready to do because they don’t know enough yet.
Remember: investors aren't just looking for places to put their money. They're looking for returns that align with their values and interests. Education is your opportunity to show them both are possible.
Your programming exists to help them solve a problem, answer a question, or make progress as an investor, and then at the end you can give a short pitch for your project or investment opportunity. But only after you’ve helped them first.
This educational approach is another example of systems thinking trumping enthusiasm. You're not trying to convince someone to invest in your film. You're building a system that naturally attracts the right investors over time.
You can use a similar service like Lu.ma to gather registrations to the event, and then spend the two weeks leading up to the event to promote it, and the two weeks after the event for follow-up.
Most of these events will have 5-25 people attend, depending on how much marketing you do and how effective it is.
I host monthly live calls for Craftsman Films that are more focused on the filmmakers than the investors, but the same principles apply.
What I love about virtual events is that they’re easier and cheaper to host, so you can do them more often. They don’t have to be a “signature” event, they can be something that exists on a regular cadence (monthly, bi-monthly) to serve the audience you’re seeking to connect with.
Over the last few years, I’ve used the two - in-person and virtual - to grow an audience, raise money, and progress my career as a producer.
The system you build is what produces your results, not your goals. Build a consistent event system, and you'll find your investor relationships—and funding—growing steadily over time.
Remember: The system matters more than your enthusiasm. When you build the right systems for connecting with investors, you'll raise more money with less effort than filmmakers who rely solely on their passion and pitch.
Following this playbook will help you do the same.
Member discussion