Breaking the cycle of talk WITHOUT traction

Cannes is buzzing! Which means red carpets are full and the trades are printing deals, and once again there’s talk that independent film is ‘BACK’! But anyone actually raising money right now knows that independent movie financing is worse than it has ever been. Behind the photo ops and the distribution headlines, the market is stagnating because the real money has gone quiet. Not because there’s no interest in film, but because there’s no trust left in the way people are asking for capital.

The truth is in the numbers. Equity deals are down because Investor participation from private capital has dropped off significantly. Major buyers are shrinking their acquisition appetite and the streaming arms race that once inflated valuations has cooled into consolidation and cost cutting. There’s less risk capital, less output, and more scrutiny on every dollar. What gets greenlit now? It’s not the loudest pitch or the buzziest package, It’s the project that looks like it was built by someone who understands how capital works.

Over the last few months, I’ve seen project after project hit the market with no roadmap, no recoupment structure, no risk mitigation but rather a story and a dream. People are still sending out scripts with zero supporting materials - or worse - sending half-finished decks with vague promises and expecting real investors to wire 7 figures. It’s absurd and it speaks to the core problem that this industry is addicted to conversations that never go anywhere.

Development has become a performance. There are filmmakers who have been “raising” for 2 or 3 years with nothing to show for it but coffee meetings and pitch calls. There’s no timeline, no target close, and no investor strategy. Just movement and that gets mistaken for progress because we’ve built a culture around visibility instead of execution. Panels, labs, and fellowships have replaced actual capital planning. Everyone’s talking about how to get into the room, but no one’s talking about what to do once you’re in.

And when money doesn’t show up, the excuse is always the same like ‘the industry is broken’, ‘buyers aren’t buying’, ‘no one supports original voices’. But the reality is that most of what’s out there isn’t structured to be taken seriously. A project without financial clarity is not an opportunity, It’s a liability. Investors are not in the business of speculating on passion anymore if they really ever were, they’re in the business of assessing risk and allocating capital where there is a credible plan. And most of what comes across their desks today is nowhere close. It’s a slop monster. 

The problem is NOT just access. The problem is readiness. Most filmmakers aren’t failing because they lack creativity, they’re failing because they’ve bought into a fantasy where being passionate and persistent is enough. It’s not. If you want to raise capital, you have to treat it like a financial transaction, not a creative crusade. You need clear terms and you need to understand your investor’s position and exit strategy. You need to be able to explain why the risk is worth it. If you can’t do that, you’re not in a raise., you’re just in motion.

I’ve seen people spend years chasing “packaging” without ever sitting down to build a working capital stack. I’ve seen decks with A-list cast lists and zero financial logic. I’ve had people ask me to find them investors for a $15 million ask with no diligence materials and no legal documents. Not even a timeline. Just enthusiasm. And yet they’re baffled when no one replies.

What we’re seeing now is a hard reset. Private equity is no longer tolerating wishful pitches as it pertains to films. Everyone is cautious. Funds are shrinking their exposure to film because the reputation risk of backing a mess is WAY TOO HIGH. Investors have been burned too many times by projects that looked promising on the surface but collapsed under the weight of bad assumptions and worse leadership. The few who are still active are more selective, more demanding, and more data-driven than ever.

And here’s the part no one wants to say out loud: Cannes (or any festival for that matter) may be the center of the conversation, but it’s not the center of the deal flow anymore. The projects that are actually getting funded are happening far away from the festival press circuits. They’re being led by teams who understand that credibility is not a vibe, It’s a strategy. They’re showing up with clean legal structures, risk-mitigated models, realistic forecasts, and financial frameworks that speak investor language. They’re not chasing buzz, they’re building trust.

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, BUT if your project depends on someone else’s capital, you owe it to them and to yourself to be serious about how you present it. And if you’re not ready to have real conversations with real financial answers, then you’re not raising, you’re performing. And in 2025, investors can spot the difference in 2 minutes.

We don’t need more “inspirational panels” with Pedro Pascal. We need practical pathways, founders and filmmakers to stop wasting time chasing meetings they’re not ready for, and people to stop asking for introductions they haven’t earned. We need a culture shift where strategy isn’t secondary to passion, and where talk doesn’t count as traction.

Capital doesn’t move on energy, it moves on preparation, structure, and leadership.

So what comes next?

Certainly not more festival applications. Not another round of "we're in talks" meetings that go nowhere. And not another season of panels where everyone nods in agreement but nothing changes in the field. Those channels have been exhausted. If you're serious about building something, you need to work within a system that aligns creative vision with financial discipline, not one that prioritizes visibility over viability.

Independent filmmakers need to start treating their projects like investor facing ventures because this is a BUSINESS. That means backing passion with infrastructure, developing financial frameworks, identifying clear return mechanisms, and preparing for scrutiny instead of avoiding it. It means accepting that just because your project matters to YOU doesn’t mean it’s automatically worth the risk to someone ELSE.

The focus has to shift FROM chasing meetings TO building materials. FROM waiting on luck TO leading with logic. FROM hoping someone sees the value, TO making it undeniable on paper. This is why more creatives are turning to strategic advisors and consultants, not to make introductions, but to make them ready. To turn the WHAT IF… into a real opportunity. The market is no longer rewarding who gets seen, It’s rewarding who is prepared. 

Who understands the numbers(?) 

Who knows how to speak the investor’s language(?)

Who doesn’t just want money, but knows what to do with it when it arrives(?)

There is still capital out there, in fact plenty of it, but it’s not looking for hype. It’s looking for structure, discipline, and leadership from the very first conversation.

So if you're serious about raising money for anything, stop leading with what you're passionate about and start with WHY it's worth funding.

That’s what breaks the cycle. 

Not more talk. 

Just traction.