The Little Indie That Could

Made by a rag tag crew of filmmakers and artists, Beasts of the Southern Wild was financed with the help of grants, film institutes and non-profit financiers, Cinereach. While the motivation for making the film was never about how it would perform at the box office, this week's Business Insider, takes a closer look at the financial breakdown of how a small, independent film like Beasts can still perform alongside big blockbuster studio movies.

"The little indie that could was produced for a mere $1.5 million and pulled off a worldwide gross of $12.3 million. Though perfectly respectable for an avant-garde picture with no stars, that final tally is a far cry from blockbuster status. Indeed, it’s the lowest grossing film among all the nominees, but it still represents the biggest return on investment for its producers. The film made more than seven times its budget -- a better return even than “Life of Pi,” which is tops in terms of total box office among all the Best Picture nominees."

Read the full article here.

The Nonprofit Behind Beasts

The making of Beasts of the Southern Wild has become a bit of an industry fairytale on its own. Conceived by two childhood friends, created by a group of artists, filmmakers and friends, shot on the fringe of the world with a cast of first time actors including a baker and a six year old child, Beasts was a up hill journey that took almost half a decade to make.  Part of the fable also includes a nonprofit organization and film production company, Cinereach, who financed the bulk of the Beasts budget.

Nonprofit Quarterly takes a closer look at the organization that helped bring Beasts to the big screen: 

Few in Hollywood have paid much attention to these nonprofit film companies, which are Davids among the Goliaths of the major studios. But, particularly with the attention to Beasts of the Southern Wild, perhaps we’re witnessing a change. Perhaps these smaller nonprofits—willing to take risks that the Hollywood market system might never green light, such as a film without professional actors—will begin to attract more attention for their ability to serve as bastions of true art in film.

Read the full article here.