New Orleans-based Indywood, an online platform for independent films, is in the process of building a website that will combine crowd investment with online education with a goal to make local filmmaking more creative and lucrative for all parties involved.
Indywood is a new way to make films for filmmakers, viewers, investors and theaters because they are innovating a model of crowdfunding for equity in local films.
“It’s basically a dating website where New Orleans indie filmmakers can meet investors, and where viewers can rent hard-to-find indie films,” explained the Indywood team.
Co-founders Hayley and Will Sampson want to empower filmmakers through online technologies. To reach their goal, they are currently using Indiegogo to raise $21,809 in the next 23 days. Indywood has received $2,070 from 32 funders so far.
Additionally, Indywood is seeking 10 featured film projects for the October launch. The company will host a screening to shows three hard-to-find independent films, including a short by Court 13 (Beasts of the Southern Wild). The event will be to introduce Indywood to the local community and provide a chance to find beta testers for the platform.
The screening will be held on October 4th at 7:00 pm at 2820 Saint Claude Ave., New Orleans 70117, and will be the first of a series of bike-in movie theater screenings throughout the fall.
For more information, visit indywood.org.