Slated, a site that connects independent film producers with investors, has raised $2 million in a Series B round of funding.
The site first launched at the Sundance film festival this year, and it sounds like the idea is catching on with independent film veterans — the company says producers such as Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte (The Kids Are All Right, Thirteen, Laurel Canyon), Lesley Chilcott (Waiting For Superman, An Inconvenient Truth), Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Inconvenient Truth, Inglourious Basterds) have already signed up. Before the launch, more than 2,000 films applied to be listed, and 44 have been approved so far.
When it comes to new financing models for creativity, a lot of the excitement nowadays revolves around Kickstarter, where people can donate to projects (including films) in exchange for credit, early access, and other rewards. However, Slated co-founder and chairman Stephan Paternot (who founded production company PalmStar Entertainment and seed investor Actarus Funds, as well as co-founding theGlobe.com, one of the legendary late-90s IPOs) is emphatic about the differences between the two models.
Paternot says Slated is closer to AngelList than Kickstarter. It’s about debt and equity financing, not donations. And it’s meant to be an exclusive community — investors have to be accredited, and you need the recommendations of at least two members to join. The films listed in Slated usually have budgets in the $1 million to $15 million range, and some have already enlisted stars like William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
In other words, this is about finding new sources of capital for the existing indie film market, something that Paternot says is complementary to the crowdfunding model of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. In fact, he’s also an Indiegogo investor, and that’s where he points first-time filmmakers or people working on something more experimental.
The new funding comes from Paternot, SecondMarket founder and CEO Barry Silbert, Logitech founder Daniel Borel, and other. Given its model, it’s probably not surprising that Slated found some of its investors on AngelList.