Truly Independent: Demystifying the Indie Film Journey

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
How can I help?

Now, this is a guy with.

Seven kids, a full time job.

Like he has plenty of other
things to be doing with his time.

But in that first conversation, he's
like, we could have like a pie night at

my house and invite 30, 40 neighbors over.

This is Truly Independent, a show that
demystifies the indie film journey by

documenting the process of releasing
independent films in theaters.

Each week, Garrett Batty and I,
Darren Smith, will update you

on our journey, bringing guests
to share their insights into the

process and answer your questions.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Hey man, how's it going?

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Welcome, Darren.

Good.

How are you doing?

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Oh man, I'm so stoked.

We'll talk about why, but it's just
like the best time of year, right?

We're we're in the middle
of Sundance right now.

Last weekend was opening weekend.

And there's events all this week
that you and I are a part of.

And so we're going to talk about a lot
of cool stuff today and I'm just jazzed.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Good.

I'm glad.

I always love it when I log on and
there you are in one of your good moods

and, uh, and have a lot to talk about.

So it's contagious.

So thank you for bringing that energy.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
That's good.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
I, yeah, it is, we're in the

middle of Sundance right now.

We're recording this on, uh, the 28th.

So, uh, middle of Sundance and so
far it's been an amazing festival.

I've had the chance to go up a
couple of times to different events.

And, uh, so I'm excited
to talk about those.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

I was a little bummed cause I had a
bunch of church events, um, on Sunday.

And so I was bummed.

Planning on going back up Sunday,
but didn't make it up back up there.

Didn't make it up there yesterday.

So I was only up there Friday night and
man, it's just, uh, it's just a vibe.

As the kids say these days, like
it was just palpable that like

film, man, film is happening.

This is what I want to be doing.

This is the kind of people I
want to be spending my time with.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Yeah, I, I went up, Saturday night.

And it was snowing, uh, you know, just
terrible drive up and an amazing, a

beautiful drive up, but it was snowing.

Uh, so if you like that, which
I do, and it was beautiful.

Got, got to one event, uh, kind of,
uh, so the impact lounge there in

prospector, uh, spent some time there,
met her work, you know, saw some people.

I know visited with some critics
and, uh, they were talking about

some great films that they had seen.

then I worked my way up to main street.

Uh, for an Angel Studios event, um, which,
big announcement, they are releasing Faith

of Angels on February 11th on their, on

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Hey,

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: site.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
we have a date folks.

We have a date.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
we have a date.

It was great to be at the event.

They talked about, uh, Brave
the Dark, which they had just

released in theaters that weekend.

Uh, so we'll be able to
talk about that, but.

Uh, yeah, I just came
away totally recharged.

It's just a great vibe and it
is independent film is happening

and moving the needle and, uh,
very much alive and thriving and

it's so fun to be a part of it.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Yeah, I love it.

So kind of related to a festival, um,
you know, there's an opportunity there.

A lot of people go to festivals to try
to move their projects along, right?

They're thinking, oh, there's 10,
people descending on Park City.

There's probably got to be one
or two that I could talk to.

You know, connect with whether
it be financiers, investors,

executive producers, or whether it
be producers, directors, writers,

actors, they're all there, right?

So how do you do it?

It's kind of what we were thinking
about talking about today.

And then I was also thinking about
the question that keeps popping

up over and over and over wherever
I'm at, whether it's online or

offline is how do you raise money?

Like that's the thing that every
filmmaker needs to crack because

They're good at the creative stuff.

They can come up with stories and scripts
and projects all day long, but it's

bridging that gap between, well, I have
a good project or what I think is a

good project, how do I get it financed?

So we're going to talk about that today.

That sound good to you?

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
I think it's great.

Yeah.

Good topics.

And, uh, it is a question that I think
stops a lot of people from making

them move like that is an obstacle.

Uh, on how to raise money,
how to find those people.

We've touched on it already.

I mean, we've been in this
development, uh, season of our

podcast for several episodes.

We've talked about pitching and
coming up with ideas, but yeah,

let's talk about, especially, I
mean, you're doing an event tonight.

With a group of investors.

So I can't wait to, yeah, I'm
going to just let you unload.

And I can't tell us your secret.

How'd you, how'd you line that up?

So,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
to, where do you want to start?

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
We're taking turns because last week

you had a list of 10 and this week
I've got the five, the five W's.

So we're going to talk
about a fundraising event.

Why do you do it?

How do you do it?

Where do you do it?

All those kind of things.

I guess the five W's and
an H or whatever it is.

I don't remember high school grammar.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
where, why, and

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
What, where, when, why, and how?

Yes.

So I think though, there's a little
bit of context that's important

here because I don't want people
to take away from this conversation

that like, oh, I have a project.

I could just spin up an event
next week and get 100 people there

that are all investors and raise
the money I need for the project.

Like that's certainly possible.

But for, for the context
in this scenario, Yeah.

I set up this idea for a film fund
20 months ago, like May of 2023.

It kind of came out of, it was after
we had done, um, the carpenter.

We had, I think I maybe even talked
to you about an idea like that

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: At

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: and.

And I, I remember I had a call
with the law firm that I work

with when we were out there.

Um, and I was just like,
Hey, what would this take?

And how does this work and what
can you guys tell me about this?

And they gave me some good ideas.

So, I mean, over two years that I've
been thinking about this idea of

creating a film fund as a producer.

So I spent 18 months testing this thing,
like setting up meetings, going to lunches

with filmmakers, with investors, with
people inside, outside of the industry and

saying, can I share this idea with you?

I want to see what you think.

And what I'm doing in those
meetings is testing the tension.

This is a phrase that popped up
when I was at a Utah film festival,

a Utah international film festival
a couple of weeks ago, the idea of

when you share your log line or your
project or your idea with somebody.

Is there a pull?

Is there some tension that's
created where they go?

How do I get involved with this?

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
do you need?

Can I help?

Can I be a part of it?

Right?

If they're leaning in, they're
being kind of pulled in.

That's a really good sign.

So I was doing that for 18
months until I realized.

I think I've got it.

And the moment that I knew I got it was I
went out to lunch with a friend and, uh,

it was a lunch to be able to talk with his
daughter who was trying to get into film.

She's like 16.

She'd done a short film and just
wanted to talk to some filmmakers.

So I was like, yeah, absolutely.

I love doing those things.

So we talked with her for like 40
minutes and then the last 20 minutes

of the lunch, he's like, well,
tell me what you're working on.

So I told him about the film fund and he's
like, oh my gosh, that sounds amazing.

How can I help?

Now, this is a guy with.

Seven kids, a full time job.

Like he has plenty of other
things to be doing with his time.

But in that first conversation, he's
like, we could have like a pie night at

my house and invite 30, 40 neighbors over.

A lot of them have money.

It'd be really great to kind of test the
waters and see if anyone's interested.

And he did that like three, like three,
four weeks later, we were at you and

I were at a pine night at his house.

So that's a really good sign
that you've got some tension that

you've created, meaning your idea
is good enough to pull people in.

So I want to kind of pause there.

Maybe I'll just add that you need to
know that your idea is ready to go

out and pitch before you start putting
together a plan, a strategy to do

something like a fundraising event.

Um, so thoughts or questions
on that before we move on.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
No, I think you're, I think

you're, right on with, uh, with.

Things that have been done in the past.

And, uh, I mean, film fund and
the film fund is what you're

doing is not a new idea.

And I know, you know, that, uh, but it's
been neat to be able to see you say, this

is what I feel like I want to do for,
you know, in order to produce a slate of

films or to raise money for a slate of
films uh, you're, you're executing it.

was there for the pie night and it was,
um, I'd say it was a home run as far as.

Presenting and again, testing the
tension, um, meeting different

people, having an opportunity to
create a warm pitch opportunities.

Um, I think it was a success.

And now we're, we're seeing
the fruits of that here.

I think at this event.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: I
should also add to that, like before

setting up this event, I had already
had four people commit to invest in

the fund, and so that's another good
signal that like doing an event.

Is gonna work, right?

You I've done.

I've certainly done events in the past
book launch events and other types of

events where I've invited 100 people
and six came and nothing came of it.

Like I've done those events.

But in those scenarios, I
didn't test the tension.

I just said, I want to do an event.

And then I did one and
it didn't really work.

So I was trying to be a lot
more methodical with this one.

And as you've seen, it's been months
that this has been coming together.

So with that said, that's
kind of the context laid.

So how do you do it?

Right.

Let's talk about who, what,
where, when, why and how.

I want to start with the why.

So why host a fundraising event?

I remember reading a book and I wish I
could remember the name of this book.

You may have read it.

This was like 15 years ago.

My buddy Alan and I were reading
this book on the way down to L.

A.

And in it, he talks about um,
this phrase of like, I have.

Numerous projects in various stages
of development and stuff, but he

talked about putting together a
fundraising event and inviting a bunch

of dentists and stuff who have money
in her board to come to your event.

And I just remember that and
going, well, that's, that's maybe

a good reason to do an event, but
maybe you find different people.

So, um, But the idea of why,
like, why have an event?

Well, the context or the, the way
that I think about fundraising

is, and I think we talked about
this in the fundraising episode.

You're going to have to have a
lot of conversations with people.

You're going to have to have preliminary
conversations, introductory conversations,

appointments, presentations, where you
actually pitch what your project is.

Hundreds.

Of conversations, at least a hundred,
like I would set everyone's minimum

number of conversations to have.

If you're going to fundraise for a project
or a fund at a hundred conversations

with people that can invest, right?

Not just me talking to you and you
talking to me, cause that, yeah, that's

a conversation, but it's not, it's not
one that can lead to an investment.

Right.

So how do you have a hundred conversations
and how long do you want it to take?

So I started having one on one convos
in November and December, and I was

trying to get a lot done before the
Christmas lull where everybody just

kind of goes offline and doesn't respond
to texts and emails for two weeks.

Um, but you know, I had four or five of
those and they were all really positive.

And so, okay, great.

If I do one or two of these a
week, it's going to take me a year.

To talk to 100 people, which is
what I think I'm going to need to

do in order to raise this fund.

So that's why I decided to implement
this strategy of a fundraising event,

because if I can get 100 investors into
the same room in the same night for two

hours together and pitch them all at
the same time, A that's a really good

leverage, like good use of my time.

And B there's a different feeling
with a hundred people in the room who

are all like, Ooh, I want in on this.

Oh, this is exciting.

Oh, I'm already invested compared to
one on one at a Starbucks where it's

noisy and there's people checking in
on you and all that kind of stuff.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: why

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: I
think one of the things too is, and

maybe this is another W, but you've,
um, set it up at a great already.

There's a buzz about film and there's
interest in, you know, we're at Sundance

at the independent film festival.

And so.

Um, you're going to talk about that,
but as far as why, because there's

already this kind of Zenith, uh, where
people are very excited about making

deals and hearing about stories and
being a part of what is going on.

I think it's a really smart
play in part of your why.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: exactly.

So why don't we just jump to
when, because that's where I

was thinking about that one.

So when I was thinking about putting an
event together, I was like, well, it can't

be November, December, like it's holidays
and people are busy and there's already

50 parties that people are going to.

And so the thought was, it's two parts.

One is I'm ready now, like let's, I
want to raise the money right now.

I'm ready to do this.

So as soon as possible was kind of
the initial thought from my end.

But then I spent a little bit
of time thinking about what's

going on in Utah in January.

Obviously, Sundance is happening now,
opening weekend, like Thursday, Friday,

Saturday, Sunday, even into Monday is
usually pretty jam packed with parties

and events and scheduled stuff that
the festival and all the different

vendors and sponsors are hosting.

And so trying to compete with
that felt like not a smart idea.

Um, But then on top of that,
this week is Utah tech week,

which has become a big event.

My friend Trent, um, started it
like, I don't know, four or five,

six years ago with like a group
of 20 people who did a run in the

morning for two hours or something.

And it's turned into this week long
event where there's 200 self hosted

events for the Utah tech scene.

And it's everything from come play
ping pong to investor summits to,

you know, after hours and, uh,
drinks and all that kind of stuff.

Like there's panels and pitch fests and
there's everything runs the gamut now.

So I was like, well, I could actually
get a lot of people from that

community to come to my event if I
host it the same week, because then

I get the free awareness of it's
also listed on the Utah tech week.

And it's on my own, uh, Luma page.

So maybe that's what we talk about.

How do you do it?

We use, uh, different platforms.

So for me, it just felt like, well,
this is the week to do it for sure.

Uh, Monday nights are hard.

Wednesday nights are not
good for me and my family.

Friday nights aren't good.

Saturdays are good.

By that time people have
already left Sundance.

I was like, okay, Tuesday.

Probably makes sense.

And so that's where it kind
of leads to where to do it.

So once I decided when I started having to
think about where am I going to do this?

And can I get the space?

So that it's going to work out.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: you can

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Um,

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: One

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: but yeah,

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
when Darren, uh, that I'll mention is.

As you were talking about that, you
know, it's as deliberate as choosing

a release date for the film, right?

You're not just, um, kind of randomly
selecting, oh, when is it convenient?

It's like, no.

What is happening around me?

What is happening in the film community?

What am I going to be competing with?

Down to the day, not even the weekend, but
down to the day, you are selecting a when.

And I think that that's very,
uh, insightful and very helpful.

Uh, even as we're releasing film or
starting production or whatever, pay

attention, uh, you know, a filmmaker
has got to pay attention to the, when

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: yeah.

Another thought there, cause I've
used this strategy in the past

too, with other kind of not film
festivals, but like conferences

and seminars that I've attended.

It's like, if you host a lunch or
host a two hour workshop or host

something that's at the same time as
the event, I remember I went to an

event called CE or a craft and commerce
two years ago, it's up in Boise.

It's put on by kit, which is an email.

ESP it's a email service
platform, whatever ESP stands

for, but they're friends of mine.

I've been using their email platform
for 14 years or something like that.

And I just decided there's a lot of
cool people that I would love to meet.

Events are sometimes hard
to connect with people.

So why don't I just host
a dinner or a lunch?

I forget which one it was, but I had
like some of the speakers come to lunch.

I had some people with like two, 300,
000 followers that I'd kind of I've

been adjacent to, but I never really
hung out with or spent any time with.

We had a dozen people come to
this dinner the night before

the event officially started.

So it's just something
you can apply everywhere.

If there's a film festival, you could
literally just go talk to the festival and

see if they want to help spread the word.

Or you can just say, Hey,
everybody, I'm doing a dinner, or

I'm going to be at this place and
a bunch of filmmakers are coming.

And then you invite them all and you show
up and everybody pays for themselves.

And it's a really great night.

So you can use that when.

Strategy, you know, with
anything, it doesn't just have

to be a fundraising event.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
And the, where you were getting

into the, where, which I'm so
excited that you have this location.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: I
was, so we did why, when, where we're,

we're going out of the order that
is typically here, but that's okay.

Um, excuse me.

So the where I knew, I knew that it
needed to be somewhere cool and exclusive.

That's just was kind of the vibe
that I knew that I needed up front.

And, um, also thinking about
this is just kind of what I think

about all the time as a producer
is where do I have some leverage?

Who do I know?

Who do I have connections with?

Where can I get maybe even for free?

And so I had already hosted an
event back in October for the

producers network that we have
here in Utah that you also came to.

And.

We hosted it at the Utah film studios up
in park city, which is a massive venue.

They have a cool annex that's like,
you know, bare bones, like the, the

room isn't finished yet, the walls
are kind of bare and they just,

it's kind of a cool vibe, but then.

They got to take a tour of the facility,
which is something pretty exclusive.

You can't just show up, knock on the
door and be like, Hey, can I get a tour?

I'm sure Marshall would do that
because he's a cool, nice guy.

But like most people don't think
that they could just go to the

film studio and walk around.

Right.

But how many people are here in Utah
that are in tech, that are in startups,

investment, BC, all those kinds of
things, which is really big here in Utah.

How many of them have had an opportunity
to go to a film studio before?

Right.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
and it's a great offer for

the film studio because you're
saying, Hey, I'm going to bring a.

large group of, uh, potential
investors, film related people to

the studio for an event studio seems
like they would be very interested in

having that type of publicity, that
type of awareness created for them.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: So when
we think about leverage, we're constantly

thinking about who on the other side
of this transaction, this deal, this

agreement would really, really benefit.

Right.

So it's not, you're
not asking for a favor.

You're presenting them with an opportunity
to have this happen at their space.

So, um, we'll talk about this with
the who as well, but like, Um,

when you're thinking about how to
put an event together, this event

isn't really costing me anything.

And we'll talk about that when you
talk about sponsors and who and

who's invited and those things.

But the where, you know, I've, I've
known you and I have both known

Marshall for many, many, many years.

He's a good friend.

He was our location
manager on faith of angels.

Like we were tight with Marshall
who runs the Utah film studios.

So that helps for sure.

I had done an event there previously
and he had already said, anytime

you want to do something like
this, you just let me know.

Well, great.

That means a, I did a good event
last time and B I can do it again.

And so I tapped into that and
said, Hey man, do you have

availability Tuesday night?

Because I'd love to do another event.

Um, even if there's stuff going
on in the stages, like it'd be

great to use the annex again.

And he's like, absolutely.

Let's do it.

So check like that part was done and
it's somewhere cool, somewhere exclusive.

Yes.

There's a little bit of a question mark
of, A lot of people who are in Salt Lake

or Utah County, which could be 30 to
60 minutes away, it's a bit of a drive.

And I don't know what
weather's looking like today.

I haven't checked, but sometimes
it gets a little hairy on

those, uh, highways, right?

So

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
there's a little bit of, um, effort

involved for them to get there,
which I actually kind of like.

Because if they decide to trek an
hour up the, up the Hill to get

to Park City, um, that shows that
they're pretty interested, right?

We even have a gentleman who's flying
in, not for Sundance, but for this

event from North Carolina to come and
hear me speak about Producer Fund.

So Those are all, again,
you're testing the tension.

That's a lot of pull.

We pulled somebody from the East
coast to buy a ticket and fly

himself here to be, to be in person.

Like that's kind of crazy when you
think about it, but that just shows how

important it is to test the tension before
you start lining something like this up.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
I think it's a solid location.

And I think that is definitely
contributing to the of the

event and what you're doing.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Awesome.

All right, well then let's dive into
who, like, who should you invite?

Who do you have come to this event?

So who do you invite?

Well, strategically, um, there's this
term called accredited investors.

And they are the people you kind of
want to target when you're raising

money for projects like this.

Now, caveat, there are plenty of
projects, short films, TV shows.

Documentaries, uh, low budget, like
micro budget features, stuff in the 50

to 250 K range where you could raise
the money from non accredited investors.

Meaning people are giving you
five grand, 10 grand a pop, and

you're raising the money that way.

So when you're raising a million plus, it
makes sense to go out and try and connect

with and invite accredited investors.

Now really quickly, there's
three qualifications.

They just need to meet one of the three.

First one is.

Uh, making 200 K a year for the
last, like two years, personal

income, uh, not combined with their
spouse, but like personal income.

So if they make 200 K a year,
they're an accredited investor.

If they have a million dollar net worth,
excluding the value of their house.

They're an accredited investor.

And the third one is if they're like
a fiduciary with a certain type of

qualification, which I don't remember
because I've never needed to worry about,

but that's the third qualification.

So what that means is you're
essentially talking to people who

have money and who are accredited,
meaning that they have a good sense

of what a good investment looks like.

They know how to look at a prospectus or
a PPM or a subscription agreement and be

able to say, Hey, Oh, this makes sense.

Or, Oh, this doesn't make sense.

Like they're not just doing it because
they're your uncle or because they're

your friend or because you're really,
really passionate about the project.

And you're really good at pitching.

They're actually making really strategic,
informed investment decisions with

regarding to the, to your pitch.

So that's who you should be looking at.

If you go outside of that a little
further, you can look at things like

family funds, people who have, um,
things called daffs, which are donor

advised funds, these are people who've
put a couple million or a couple hundred

thousand away for charitable giving.

Sometimes that's set aside for projects
or for opportunities like this.

There's a, there's a whole
slew of people you can go talk

to, but generally speaking.

People with money, accredited investors.

That's who you're looking at inviting.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Darren, it can be an

intimidating, uh, invite, right?

Because as a filmmaker, I mean, typically,
a lot of independent filmmakers, we

didn't go to business school, we don't
have an MBA, uh, we're not familiar

with PPMs and offerings and putting
all those things through securities

and thing, and so, to invite a room
full of accredited investors, Who are

accustomed to looking at at that type
of content to say, here's my idea for a

film fund, or here's my idea for a movie.

Here's my pitch for my story.

I want to tell the questions that
you're going to get are most likely.

What's the IRR?

What's, uh, you know, more
investor related questions.

So how do you prepare for that type of?

Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Well, you, you do it.

I mean, part of it is you shift your
mindset as a producer to go, Oh,

I'm not just a creative producer.

I'm not just a production guy or gal.

You're not just there for running
the show during production and prep.

Um, if you want to start raising money,
then you have to expand your skillset

and your experience and understanding and
knowledge to To be able to learn what all

these things are and how it works and what
the process is and how to speak investor.

And so a lot of it is practice.

You can definitely read books.

You can definitely listen to podcasts.

You can definitely talk to people
who have already done it before.

And I love the, uh, the principle
that Derek Sivers shared in his

book, your music and people.

He says, the fastest way to
get anywhere is to call the

destination and ask for directions.

And so who's already done it.

And I mean, I, subtle aside is like,
I'm doing a lot of that work as well

on my blog, on this podcast, you and
I are doing this together to be able

to say, we've cracked a couple things.

So we're going to share it.

And so we're kind of
giving the directions.

I mean, that's what this episode is.

It's like, here's how I did it.

You can follow the same process.

And so for me, it was a lot of
conversations, a lot of reading

books, a lot of listening to
podcasts and just testing it again,

18 months of having conversations,
there were, there was a week where.

Two or three different people
in three separate conversations

brought up DAFs, Donor Advised
Funds, and I'd never heard of them.

What on earth is a Donor Advised Fund?

And the more that I looked into it,
the more I was like, Oh my gosh,

this is an untapped opportunity.

I should be figuring this out.

And so I spent a lot of time researching
what DAFs were, and that was like

10 hours of one week of my time.

Figuring out what a DAF is and how it
works and how to talk to people who have

them or who maybe want to have them and
where can I direct them and, and even

going to the point where now I have three
people who can set up a DAF for you.

If you're a person with money who wants
to put some aside for charitable giving,

I could point you, I could connect
you with people who set those up.

So it's just kind of running the
full gamut of, okay, if I'm going

to know what these are, I'm going to
get really embedded into that world.

I feel like I've done that.

So it's just kind of taking the mindset
of no one else is going to do it.

It's my responsibility to figure
it out and know how to sit, uh,

speak the language and know what
these questions and answers are.

And that just comes
with time and doing it.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Unfortunately, everybody

wants the quick answer.

I'm like, I don't, I don't
have a quick answer for you.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Well, that's a great answer.

And again, it just shows like there's
more, I mean, if you're going to treat

this as a career and as a business, right?

Yes.

The idea is come up with a great story.

That's fine.

And go out and make your movie.

And that's great.

to rinse and repeat and to do
that over and watch your budgets

increase and your return potential
increase, you have to like step up.

And I think that that's what you're doing.

It's awesome.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
So then the question becomes, well,

where do you find these people?

And how do you send out an invite?

Well, I will say it's way easier
to invite people to an event.

That's a really cool event at a
really cool place than it is to say,

Hey, can I pitch you my project?

So it's actually a really great
strategic decision to do something like

a fundraising event, because it's kind
of, it takes the edge off of the request.

It's not saying, will
you invest in my thing?

It's saying, I'm putting this together.

It's going to be awesome.

You don't have to do anything,
just come and have a good time.

And there's going to be a lot
of other cool people there.

And the way that you present it.

Shows people, Oh, this
is thoughtfully done.

It's put together.

There's going to be
other cool people there.

It sounds like a great event.

I would like to go to that.

Great.

And then they RSVP, right?

So where do you find them?

Honestly, I'm going to say it again.

Do you, do you know what I'm going to say?

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
You're going to say something

that starts with a LinkedIn.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
It sounds like LinkedIn.

It rhymes with LinkedIn.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Yeah, I'm not joking, but it

is bonkers how easy it is.

And again, I think
there's some context here.

That's important.

I've been talking about indie film,
producing, fundraising, investing

in indie film for six or eight
months, every single day on LinkedIn.

I, we were documenting our entire process
of releasing our two movies last year.

Like that's when it started June,
July, last year, every day we were

talking about film on LinkedIn.

And so there've been people.

Who have been paying
attention since last summer.

And when you talk about something
consistently at the level that we're

talking about it, like meaning we're
doing it, we're in the trenches right

now, and we're talking about it.

Hey, that's impressive.

B it gives people a sense
of, Oh, this is what they do.

And so there's a level of trust.

When you say, Hey, I'm hosting an event,
a Utah film investors summit, they go,

well, that makes sense because you are
someone who would host an event like that.

If I said, Hey, I'm hosting an AI summit.

People be like, what
are you talking about?

Cause I never talk about AI,
so it doesn't make any sense.

So a lot of this is like thinking
about what's the run up what's

the lead up to something like.

Going out and pitching a project
or going out and raising money or

going out and hosting an event.

Well, what are you doing in the three
and six months before that, that

make people really comfortable to go?

Oh yeah, that makes sense.

Makes sense that they would
be doing something like that.

I, I will click to find out more.

So LinkedIn was like number one for me.

Um, it was a lot of, I mean,
you can literally type in, angel

investor in quotations, like
quotation, angel investor quotation.

And for me, it popped up 15, 000
people who have angel investor

in their bio on LinkedIn.

And a couple of hundred of them were
first degrees connections of mine,

meaning here's a secret for you.

You can click on their contact info.

If you're a first degree connection and
it will show you their email address.

Because LinkedIn is awesome.

So instead of messaging them on
LinkedIn and hoping they get your

DM, send them an email, which you
have because you're connected.

And so I just did that over
and over and over again.

I can pull up this, this spreadsheet
and show you a hundred people one

week, a hundred people the next
week, a hundred people the next week.

Every week I was messaging and inviting.

at least a hundred people to this event.

Now, how many are coming?

Well, there's a hundred people
RSVP and they are 80 to 90

percent accredited investors.

We have some actors coming.

We have some industry people coming.

We have some people that are just
kind of impressive, that are fun,

that are going to be there, which
makes the event cooler, but mostly.

Accredited investors who have RSVP.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
It's cool.

It's

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: So
LinkedIn, number one for me, number

two is bridge, a bridge connector.

Who is someone who already
has the network you need?

To me, this was the friend that I went to
lunch with in, back in October, November,

last year, October, not last year.

He has the network he's in this
world and is very connected

because he's a salesperson.

And he's just got that vibe of like,
he will just start pitching you.

Yeah.

So who are the people who already
have the network that you need?

And for me, I would say it's lucky,
but honestly, it's been very strategic.

The last 15 years I've been adjacent to
and attending events put on by Silicon

slopes and VC communities and people
that are hosting events for investors

and startups and CEOs and people
in the tech industry here in Utah.

Because that's where all
the money is in Utah.

There's a little bit of, you
know, film money in park city,

but it's hard to tap into.

And so it's like, all right,
well, what if we created a

new class of Investor in film.

What does that look like?

And that's kind of what
I started thinking about.

And so we have a friend who's a bridge
and I've got three or four others that are

coming to the event that basically said,
I'm coming, what can you use help with?

And I said, I would love for you to
look at your contacts and if there's

anyone that should get an invite.

Either connect me and I'll send
it, or you can just invite them.

And I gave that permission to
like four people who I knew had

a network that I didn't have.

And my goodness, that is so
much, so much more powerful than

me DMing someone on LinkedIn.

If someone they know and trust that
they've worked with, that they've gone

to events for or whatever it is, if
they say, Hey, there's an event and

you should come, it's very likely that
they will consider it and even sign up.

So we had a lot of signups
come through that way as well.

Um, The last thing I'll say as
far as who, is you don't just want

people with money in the room.

You want people who are aligned
with the kind of project or projects

you're trying to produce, right?

The room of people that want to invest
in Blumhouse movies is very different

than the room of people who want
to invest in Angel Studios movies.

There are two different genres, two
different visions and missions and

kind of stories that they're telling.

And if you get a room of faith based
investors, you know, and you're

pitching them a slasher horror movie
with a lot of gross stuff in it, it

doesn't matter how much money's in
the room, they're not going to get.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
You're not, not going to get on

board, so you got to be conscious of

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
tonight?

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
what's that?

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
So just maybe a selfish question,

what's this group tonight?

What projects should I bring to pitch?

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Well, the, the nice thing is I've

been pitching this fund is it aligns
with people who are also thinking

about charitable giving, right?

We're making movies that
change people for good.

We're making movies that you want to
watch with your kids, that they want

to watch with their kids in 30 years
because they're well crafted and

they're great stories and they're stuff
that's accessible to the whole family.

That doesn't mean animated
Disney channel movie of the week.

But it does mean these are movies that
you're going to love and you're going to

want to take your family to the premiere
and to go see it in theaters, right?

Because the only kind of content,
the only kind of films that are

coming out serving that audience
are animated movies recently, right?

It's the Disney's and Pixar's and
animated stuff, which is great.

I love going to the theater with
my boys and watching those movies.

But man, I would put Faith of
Angels in that category, right?

It's a story about a boy
who's lost in the mine.

And there's a lot of teams involved
and like, my kids came and saw it and

invited their friends a, because yeah,
dad produced this movie, but also

it's a movie that they liked watching
and wanted to tell their friends

about and invite them to come see it.

So movies like that.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: you do
that and you expand it into how you're

producing it and why you're producing
it and the vision of how you're going

to impact the industry over a number
of years, people really get in in

line or aligned with the mission.

Beyond just the projects themselves.

So interesting tidbit.

I have not been pitching
the projects to investors.

I haven't told a single investor here
are the projects I'm going to invest in.

No, because it's not, you're
not investing in films.

You're investing in a fund that's
going to pick the films given certain

parameters and all those things,
which we can talk about in the later

episode, but it's not about the movies.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
about, this is the kind of movies

we're going to do and you're going
to be involved in picking them and

giving a thumbs up or thumbs down.

We want everyone to be, feel good
about the movies we're producing.

But as soon as you start talking
about it that way, people can see

that there's like a cause behind it.

Like there's a mission, there's a
vision, there's something that's

really good at the heart of it.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
And that is the kind of people

who have been pulled, like feel
the tension to come to this event.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: I think
it's a cool model and a great concept

and, uh, At the angel event a couple of
days ago, but Sundance, you know, it was

again, a room full of, uh, very well,
uh, well informed investors and, and,

um, people who had access to a lot of
money and an angel was standing up there.

Uh, Neil and Jeff and Jordan Harmon were
talking about just this innate desire that

people have, that they want to make money.

A movie or to want to tell a story, and
it's, it's, uh, it's pretty universal.

And, um, it's the people with
money that are able to do that.

so, um, where they are not necessarily
storytellers or filmmakers, but they

want to participate in that process.

And so I think that, uh, you're
filling up a room full of a hundred

people that, that have that desire,
that are at least curious enough

to drive an hour outta the way.

already have money.

They're experienced making
money and doing what they do.

Um, and so now this gives them an
opportunity to hobnob and trust and listen

and learn from a From you from a producer
who is going to help them select the right

stories to tell so I think it's awesome

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Exactly.

Yeah.

It's a different structure than
I've seen any other producer before.

So it's fun because it's
never been done before.

So that's an exciting element of it.

So we've covered why, when, where, who,
and so we need to talk about what, like,

what is the actual event look like?

So let me just cover this quickly.

And then I want to talk
about sponsors as well.

So what it is, is a two hour summit.

We call it a summit because we're doing
a couple of different, uh, things as

part of the agenda for the evening.

It's not just everybody get in a room and
talk to each other and then leave after

two hours, but it's a two hour event.

So it's not three or four,
like two hours is a sweet spot.

There's a book by Nick Gray called
The Two Hour Cocktail Party, and I

would highly recommend you read it.

And think about it because it gives
you really good tips as far as like

how to send out invites and how to
remind people and how to run the event.

And what kind of stuff should you
include in an event like that?

This is different because
there's 100 people coming.

It's not a 12 person house party, right?

But I used a lot.

Um, from that book.

So it's a two hour event and
we have some sponsors involved,

which make the event even cooler.

So I've got a buddy of mine, Ryan
Innes, who's a singer songwriter.

He's been on The Voice.

He's been on Songland.

He's extremely good.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
video for him.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
There you go.

As have I, that's awesome.

So, you know, Ryan and I go way back.

We were in school together at BYU.

We're talking nearly 20 years ago.

We were in classes together.

Um, both of us did not have beards
at the time because you're not

allowed to have them at BYU.

But I mean, we go way, way back and I've
run sound for this guy dozens of times

over the years, because I used to run
sound and so he's coming to the event.

Right.

And he's cutting me a sweet deal.

He's not charging me the thousands
of dollars he normally charges.

He's cutting me a deal.

Right.

And so.

It's one of those things.

This is, this is going to be the
same across all three sponsors for

sponsors that we have for the event
is that there's an upside for them.

That's greater than the money they
could have gotten in exchange for

catering or being at the event.

Right.

So for him, I'm covering like
gas and his, a little bit of

his time, not his full fee.

Um, We have the venue, right?

So we talked about that.

The third one is we have, I have
another buddy who runs a company

called San Diablo churros.

And I met him eight years ago
when he was just starting out.

He was at a house party that I was at.

And it was like one of the first four
or five events that he'd ever run.

And they were amazing.

And he was cool.

And we went and got tacos after,
and we, we ran a Spartan race

together like a year after that.

Like we're just buddies.

Yeah.

But he runs this company that's now been
on Shark Tank and has won best of state,

best pastry, like six years in a row.

Like he's a super
talented, successful dude.

So I said, Hey Scott,
I'm hosting this event.

I thought of you first and think
of like, listen to the way that

I'm, um, kind of presenting this or
packaging it, uh, or positioning it

because it's not, Hey, will you come
and do this event for free for me?

Right.

It's Hey, I'm hosting this event
and I have room for two sponsors

and I thought of you first because I
wanted to give you the opportunity.

Let me tell you about the event.

It's a Utah film investor summit.

I got 100 investors like
CEOs, people with companies.

People that are in VC funds and host
their own events and stuff all the

time, they're coming to this event.

So I wanted to see if that's
something you'd be interested in.

Normally, you know, I'd have like a 500
budget, but if you wanted to comp that

and come, I'll give you two minutes
to kind of pitch the room so that you

can tell them about what you're up to.

And he's like, Oh my gosh, dude,
thank you for thinking of me.

That's amazing.

A hundred percent.

I want to be there.

That was his response on
the first call, right?

And so then I said,
Hey, do you know anyone?

Because he's always doing events.

Do you know anyone that could do drinks?

Right?

I would love to have like a
soda bar or something like that.

He's like, Oh yeah,
there's this guy, Ethan.

Let me text him.

Let me connect you.

He'll do it.

So because of Scott's recommendation,
Ethan is doing the same thing.

Instead of me paying him 500
for the event, which typically

would be 1500 or 2000, I think.

Is comping the event, like paying out
of his pocket for the supplies, for

the drinks, for his people all their
time, he's paying that in order to

be there at the event and get two,
three minutes to pitch the room.

So how you position that is
really important, but essentially.

The venue, the musical guests, the two,
uh, the, the churros and the drinks were

all free, not because they're doing me
a favor, but because I created something

that was valuable, more valuable to
them than the dollars they could have

gotten, um, just for catering the event.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

Brilliant.

Brilliant.

And so is there, so is there a schedule?

We show up at seven and,
uh, Ryan sings a set or, and

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

Yeah.

I can talk about that.

So it's a six to eight.

Um, I tried to do it a little earlier.

Seven's pretty typical for these
things, but I figured six to

eight, uh, lets them drive home at
eight o'clock and be home by nine.

Which isn't too late for people.

If it went from seven to nine, then
they're getting home at 10, 10 30.

And on a Tuesday, that's kind of, that
might wreck your week a little bit.

Um, I'm sure I'll be there
till like 10 o'clock though.

So it's going to wreck my week.

That's okay.

Um, so yeah, six o'clock
people show up, they sign in.

I have, I have another person
who's an aspiring producer.

He's done a couple of short
films and he just did a feature,

like a low budget feature.

Um, so.

So he's coming and he's volunteering
his time in exchange to be in the room,

to see how it works, to learn from me.

And so he's running the check in,
uh, desk and the coat check for me.

Um, so like 6, 6 30, people are
arriving, grabbing churros and drinks,

6 30, Ryan plays for 15, 20 minutes.

Then I give the sponsors
their chance to talk.

So, you know, Marshall from the film
studio and the San Diego churros and.

Drinks are all going to be
able to take two, three minutes

to say, this is who we are.

This is what we're doing.

You know, whatever it
might be their pitch.

And then we, we're going
to do a little round table.

So this is why I called it a
summit because we want to talk

about the opportunity that
exists with indie film right now.

Um, you, you're coming off of,
you know, crazy couple of years,

you start with COVID and then you
get into the dual strikes of 2022.

And then last year.

Hollywood didn't really
recoup beginning of this year.

You had fires in L.

A.

You've got mass exodus from
people up and leaving L.

A.

To move to other states
and other countries even.

And so, um, If that's not the model
that's working anymore, the Hollywood

system, well, what opportunity is
there with the indie film ecosystem?

And we're even talking about
doing something different than

other people are doing right now.

So we're kind of setting the stage and
the tone and giving people kind of the

context of we're talking about indie
film and the opportunity that exists.

We'll do that for 15 or 20 minutes.

After that, I'm going to do my little 5
to 10 minute pitch for Producer Fund 1.

And, uh, I don't know if I've talked
about this book before, but The

3 Minute Rule by Brant Pinvidic.

That's the, that's the framework
for my 3 to 5, 5 to 10 minute pitch.

It's, what is it?

How does it work?

Are you sure?

Can you do it?

And there's a couple other elements
in there as well, but you basically

come up with about 30 bullet points
and you just say those in order.

And the flow really works and it gets
people to understand what it is, how

it works, how they can get involved.

By the end of that, it'll be like,
and I'm here if you have questions,

but I hope you're in, if you're
in, I've got, I'll show you this.

I bought little, um, see
if it, it doesn't change.

It's a,

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
it doesn't focus.

So I've got these little money clips.

And these business cards.

So the business card just says
producer fund one on it on the back.

It says, are you in,
it's not going to work.

Is it, are you in with the QR code?

It says, scan the QR
code, text me or email me.

It's all right there.

And the money clip is branded.

It says producer fund one on it.

So there's a little memento
that's like, I was there the day.

The night, the event that this
happened, the day that this took

off, I was there, I was involved.

Like that's a meaningful thing that
cost me like a dollar per unit.

I bought a hundred of them and
printed a hundred business cards.

We'll put all the business
cards of everybody else, the

sponsors in that little stack
and hand it when they check in.

So the rest of the night, the last
30, 40 minutes, they get to take a

tour of the Utah film studios and
hang out, eat churros, drink soda,

talk to me, talk to each other.

And there's plenty of other people in
the room that also have opportunities.

So as they're talking with
people, it's not just me.

I strategically was like,
Hey, you're going to be there.

You have stuff that you're pitching
and talking to people about, and

I've encouraged you to do so.

Right.

It's not just like hush, hush,
and only talk about there.

And it's like, no, talk
about your projects.

Cause they may be more interested in that.

Or they may be interested in Lindsay has
a harbor fund, a hundred million dollar

development fund that she's raising.

Like there's a bunch of
people that are coming.

That'll be in the room that are happy.

That have opportunities just because I
set up the event, I get the microphone

for five to 10 minutes to pitch my thing.

But there's plenty of abundance,
plenty of opportunity in the

room for people who are looking.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Yeah, so great.

Well, I'm excited.

I'm excited for, uh, probably next
week's episode where we'll talk about

how it went and, uh, what project you're
going to select first, because I, I

imagine this not being a hit for you.

You've put so much time and energy
and effort into it, and you've

backed it up with your experience.

So, uh,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: man.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: just
rooting for it to work out for you.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
That means a lot.

Um, one of the investors that's coming
tonight texted me this morning and said,

Hey, what's, what's your, let me read it.

Cause it was a cool question.

Um, what's going to be the
measure of a successful evening

for you, knowing that may help,
uh, my wife and I align with you.

It's like, that's a great question.

Thank you for asking.

So just to get into a little bit
of the nitty gritty with what is

the fund and how does it work?

I set it as a 2 million minimum, meaning
until I have 2 million committed, I

can't start spending money from the fund.

And so that just shows that, okay, we have
enough commitment to greenlight the first

two projects and have two years worth of
runway in order to produce those projects.

And that gives me the full year to raise
the total amount, which is 10 million.

So my answer to him was, you know, 2
million mark is like the bare minimum.

Like I need to get to that tonight, not
necessarily this evening by midnight,

but from the conversations from the
event and the followup emails and texts

and getting people committed, I'd like
to see two, 3 million minimum by the

end of the week, end of the month.

You know, perfect world, the whole 10
drops this week and we're oversubscribed

and we have plenty of, um, demand for
people who want to be involved with this.

And we know that we're going
to do 10 movies over the next

four years and we just go.

So it's somewhere in that
range that we're hoping.

And so, yeah, it's exciting.

I weirdly, my, I've never seen
this pop up on my Apple watch.

I don't know if you've ever
seen it, but this morning.

It popped up and said, two of your
vitals were way out of range last night.

My heart rate was between
80 and 120 all night.

Like 120 is like zone two cardio.

Like, what are you talking about?

Why was that one 20?

Like in the middle of the night while I
was sleeping and my respiratory rate went

up, it's normally like 12 and it went up
to 16, which is a 33 percent increase.

That's a massive.

Change.

And it showed me the graph and
it was like, here's your normal.

And then ding, ding, like
these two are up here.

What happened last night?

And I genuinely wonder how much of
it is just like the excitement and

anticipation for tonight, because it's
been a few years, years, it has been

a few years, but a few months of very
focused, uh, invested time in order to

get to this point, so very, very excited.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
100 percent of that.

Yeah, occurrence is because
of that energy and excitement.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
So that's amazing.

Uh, well, I, I'm again, so excited
for you and I look forward to

seeing you tonight at six o'clock.

We'll be there.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Thanks so much, man.

Cannot wait.

It's going to be a good time.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: Okay.

Any, any other questions
or comments or anything?

I did have somebody reach
out and wants to know.

They've, they've put together a,
uh, feature length documentary and

they're looking for theatrical, who,
who can, uh, this is their first film.

They've gotten a write up this I'm
just reading this text right now.

We've got a write up on MLB.

com.

We're not sure how to get
the film to a wider audience.

It's a documentary.

We'd love to get it streaming
somewhere and ideally even do

a little theatrical release.

Is there a distributor that,
uh, you'd recommend uh, would

not take advantage of us?

Uh,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Well, that

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
already a great mindset.

You know, be careful.

You know, it's your first film and, uh,
you don't want to be taken advantage of,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: yeah.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
uh, yeah.

But what a fun spot to be in, I
guess, to be able to be getting

some traction on your first film.

I mean, I think that if they're getting
write ups on MLB, it might be worth

doing some festivals, especially for a
documentary feature length documentary.

Um, it looks like a great, great topic.

It's about, uh, uh, the
trappers, the longest winning

baseball streak in history,

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Oh, nice.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
is kind of a fun thing.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
That sounds awesome.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
yeah, so I do festivals.

And as you'd talk to any, for any
filmmaker, put your film in festivals.

And as it gets screened and selected,
try to, you know, go to those that are,

that where you've done your research
and you know, that, um, there will be

distributors in, in the audience or
invite distributors in the audience.

Um, and, and start talking to them and
get a good idea of who you might work

with, who could do with your film,
what you want done with the film.

Or you can also look at self releasing,
uh, through some of the aggregators.

Uh, out there and that's a great way,
you know, just a simple online search

for, you know, feature film aggregators
or streaming aggregators helps, uh, you

know, you, you, there, there are several
that come up and check the reviews and

maybe reach out to other filmmakers
that are distributed through them and

find out what their experience has been.

Um, but there is no, there's no shortage
of ways to get your film out there.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Um, I would just echo what I

said earlier, which is call the
destination and ask for directions.

Like what are the other sports
documentaries that have had a

successful theatrical release?

And if there are none, then that says
something about what you're up against.

But if there are some, guess what?

You can go find the filmmaker and
you know what filmmakers like?

people calling them and asking
them questions about their movies.

So I guarantee if you find the
director or the producer of another

documentary that did well and
said, Hey, I watched your thing.

I love it.

Congrats on the success.

I wondered if I could ask a few questions
about your distribution strategy.

I have got a documentary that
we're looking at doing right now.

I mean, you could ask five or
10 people that and get a couple

of calls and probably find.

Someone, and what's great about
that strategy is they can just

put you in touch with the director
or the distributor they used.

They know who they are.

So if it's XYZ releasing or whatever
the company is, they go, Oh, you should

just talk to Garrett over here at this
company and I'll put you in touch.

Well, there you go.

Now you don't have to wait for a
festival and hope that they're there.

You're taking a more proactive
approach of who do I want to work with?

Well, there's maybe five or 10
distributors that are really great fits.

How do you get in touch with them?

Well, who's, what movies
have they already done?

Talk to the filmmakers, get to them.

They that's what I would do.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149: I
love it for this for this particular one.

I'm going to refer them to some friends
of mine who made a movie about a

surfer it got distributed through a
distributor called Sidewinder Films.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Nice.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
uh, it's been on PBS and been out,

it had a theatrical run again,
uh, probably aligns with, um, you

know, another sports themed movie.

So, uh, yeah, there's
definitely people out there.

You don't always feel like you
have to just run to Netflix

and take a no rewards deal.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: You
can also look at, um, Fathom events,

you know, they do a lot of documentaries
as well, and they just kind of do

a weekend release, but you can get
one, 2 million in a weekend because

they have the channel already to get.

You know, 100, 000 or 500, 000 people
out to an event and you make it more

of an event release rather than a
typical traditional theatrical release.

And then that boosts your post
theatrical as well, cause you did it.

So that's maybe something
to think about as well.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Awesome.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Yeah, dude,

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Anything else?

This has been a good episode, man.

Very informative.

I need to let you rest your voice.

You've got a big event coming up.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
I'm very excited.

It's, it's, it's all just gratitude
and excitement at this point.

There's no nervous energy.

It's just.

It's also not to keep being long
winded, but like, I've done a

lot of events over the years.

I've hosted dozens.

I've done podcasts and speaking and
interviews and like all these things.

So this isn't the first time.

So if you're listening to this and going,
well, there's no way I could do that.

We'll start small, start with a house
event, like invite six people over and

pitch them your project and say, I just
want to practice this or whatever it

is for you that it feels comfortable
and then work your way up to it.

So, um, not to say that
I'm anything special, but.

I, it always, um, bumps me out a
little bit when people are like,

well, I could never do that.

It's not available to me
because I haven't done XYZ.

It's like, well, I hadn't
done it either until I did it.

And, you know, I've been at this
18 years, like it takes time, but I

hope the takeaway is it's possible.

Like I'm just some dude in Provo,
Utah of all places that's doing

this stuff and it's going to work.

Whether it's tonight or whether
it's three months from now or 12

months from now, I don't care.

It's going to work.

It's going to happen.

And hopefully that's the mindset
people can take away and go, okay,

well, what do I want to have work?

What do I want to make happen?

Just go do it.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
I love it.

Okay, man.

Thanks for the episode.

Uh, we'll see you in a bit tonight.

Have

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149:
Thanks dude.

garrett-batty_1_01-28-2025_102149:
rest of the festival and, uh, look

forward to talking with you next week.

daren-smith_1_01-28-2025_102149: Same.

Thanks Garrett.

Thank you for listening to this
episode of Truly Independent.

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