Lights, Camera, Returns: Investing in Film & Entertainment

Well, I am excited to have you all on here. You let me know when we're ready. Yes.

So this is Ariel Fernald, and she is an amazing producer that I have the privilege and honor to work with on a very special project dear to our hearts. And today she is going to rip the curtain back and show us behind the scenes of what it's like to invest in movies. Yes, take it, take it away, Ariel.

Well, it is a joy to be here and to be able to share with our audience, um, about the opportunity and the blessing that it is to be involved as an investor in film. I think it's not the first thing that most people think of. I think most people think, well, I got to be at least a multimillionaire to get in on being a film investor, but that is not true. There are many ways that you can get involved in being an investment— in investment in film. And today, what I really want to share with you is that there's not only the opportunity for financial investment, but from the standpoint of legacy impact. When I think about investments, I not only think about what type of finances that my family can, can benefit from, but I also want to think about what am I actually putting my money into? What am I sowing into that? And how is it going to impact my community, my, my country, my children's future? And most people don't think of that when they think of film, but the reality is, is that films not just— they don't just reflect culture, but they actually influence culture and they impact individuals. The best of films can change us, can change our minds, can change our perspectives, can encourage us or inspire us to get to take action in our lives that makes a difference for our life and the life of others. And I don't know about you, but those are the kind of films that I really enjoy watching. Uh, yes, I like to go and see films that take me off into the fantasy world and escape. Um, I have watched all the Star Wars series. I do watch the Marvel films when they come out with my kids. Um, but I really do enjoy films that have a solid message. And the reality is that every piece of art that you see on film has a purpose, has a message, and has an audience. And so with that, there is some level of impact that each film is desiring to make beyond just the financial gain. And so I wanted to start with that today and just encourage people to open up their hearts and their minds as we talk about this today. I actually want to take us through kind of a, a case study, if you will, in looking at what would be a pitch deck for a typical film and share with you the investment opportunities and how, as an investor, to actually look at a project and determine if it's for you and if it fits, you know, both the, the risk factor, the financial gain, but also the impact that you might want to make through your investment portfolio. So I am going to share my screen, if that's okay with you all, and just put together. Put this up here. Let me see if I can find the right one. Uh, there it is. Click and share. So let me know. Um, allow this time. Perfect. So y'all can see.

Yeah.

Okay, there we go. So I'm going to start here, and like any other presentation— here we go— this is the the opening page. And in, um, the investment, uh, in an investment with a film, you see a pitch deck. You're not only going to get just the numbers and all that, but you're also going to get some of the artistry. And so this particular project is called A Daughter's Voice, and we generally give this one-liner that is all-encompassing to give you an idea of the, the film. And so this one says, across oceans and against the odds, she discovers love, purpose, and destiny, Birthing a legacy that inspires women around the world. So this particular project, uh, just from the, the, uh, title, from the one-liner, you can tell that it will probably be driven by, uh, the female audience. Um, and that's the— and again, the audience, when I say the audience, it doesn't mean that It's the only audience. It means who's the driving force audience to get people to see this film. So with that statement and that legacy that inspires women around the world, it will probably most likely be driven by women, which works because women are in fact the driving force when it comes to film. We get our boyfriends, our children, our husb— our husbands and our friends to go to films with us. So we are the, the ticket holders and the ticket drivers. So this particular film, as we go on, we share about what is the tone and the genre. And that's something that you want to look at today in investments. You want to ask yourself, how many people watch that type of film? You know, if you're looking at an investment, if I was going to have an oil investment, I was looking at different investments and it's like, am I going to invest in oil or am I going to invest in limestone? Limestone, I'd have to ask myself how many people every day are rolling up to the pumps for limestone versus how many people are rolling up to the pumps for something that has to do with the whale. And so we are— so we want to look at what is the genre on this particular film. It is faith-based biographical inspirational drama. So let's break that down as a person who's saying is this a good investment or the type of a film that might be a good investment? Well, how is faith-based doing right now? Faith-based arena, family and faith, is huge. It is the consistent film that people are really wanting right now, and more of the films that are faith-based that are hitting the theaters are doing really excellent. They are making their returns. And they're doing it in record time. So we'll see more comparables and some information on that later, but that might be something when you look at. Now, other people might say horror films are a type of film that people go to on a regular basis and has an audience, right? That would be another option if that is something that lines up with your values and your interests and the impact that you want to make on society. But again, with faith-based films, you have a very clear majority, a very clear middle of America that is wanting faith and family. Biographical. Biographical is big. People cannot deny someone's testimony, if you will, of their life. So biographicals are very well received in every area. And then inspirational drama. Who of us doesn't want to go and see something that's inspiring drama? We don't want to see drama where at the end of the day we are wrecked, not in a good way. So this is, um, so these are things that we would look at, and we'll look at the comparative films and types of storylines. Oh, Forrest Gump meets Crazy Rich Asians. Those are two films that have very distinct story styles and audiences. So we're looking to see, does our— does this film have a genre as well as a story style that many people would be interested in? In general, you see film summary. It'll give you an idea of the story. I'm not going to read this whole paragraph to you or page, but you want to get a sense of if you read it, is it a story you would be interested in? This is about a woman whose story starts in Hong Kong and goes from Hong Kong after the death of her mother to America where she goes to school, to Mississippi, to New York, to Belgium, to Houston. It's a story that travels, so you know that it has some international flavor to it. It has ups and downs. It has romance. It has the highs and lows. So we want to read that film summary and say, "Ooh, would I want to read that story?" and do I think others would too? The— you're also going to get a sense of the, um, the world that it's in that's created. Again, the style of storytelling, the style of filmmaking by the visuals that you see. These visuals give you a sense of what the filmmakers see in their minds that they want to create. And is it going to be quality? So we want to look at that and see the quality of it. There's also in some films who's— who might be attached to it, or what's the level of performer that they're looking at. This particular project has individuals that are known both in the faith market, which is our primary audience, and also people like Arden Cho who have done projects that are more in the general population, like the Demon Slayer— I don't know if you've heard of the, the craze over the Demon Slayer movie, the animation, but she's a voice in there. So we look at who are the types of people that they're looking at. Again, those can help in a project, Um, then who are the leadership? And you want to look at who the leaders are in this, just like if you were looking at oil, you wouldn't necessarily go with the first time, um, the first time oil driller. You want those that have experience. And so you're going to look at that investment and say, who's at the helm? And Lisa Arnold, for instance, in this project, she is a veteran of the film industry. She is one of Uh, I would say she is the most decorated Christian, uh, film director, uh, female. And she just this last year directed two films that have come out this year and two of the top series in the Christian space. So that says that we have somebody at the helm who knows what they're doing. Now I mentioned actors again. I want to point out something to you that Um, you don't— many projects don't have actors attached already, but if they do, those actors are generally attached for a reason, and they're— they can be very specific, as I said before, to the actual project. So for this particular project, the featured actor in here is Lily Chen. Lily Chen Foster is an acclaimed international actress, and she's also very much a cultural leader, uh, when it comes to films and television, not just in China but in the United States. She was a household name in China and has come to the United States. She here is a huge influence in both the philanthropic community and also the, um, uh, cultural and arts communities. She is very well respected and she is a lovely philanthropist as well. And so with this project wanting to reach both a U.S. And an international audience, where does it make sense that we would want to take this? That would be China. That would be in the Asian communities. And Lilly Chin is a name in those communities. And so again, you have to look at the project and say, oh, that person is a benefit to this project. So that is another thing that we wanna look at. We also wanna look at cameo appearances or individuals that are in there. These two individuals, for instance, that are highlighted, We want to look at Dr. Mark Yarborough. Now we may say, Mark Yarborough, who is that? Well, he's the 6th president of Dallas Theological Seminary. How does that support this being a successful project? Well, there's 18,000 graduates, alumni, from this institution, and they have— are in leadership and in ministries all over the country and the world. With congregations, with ministry partners, with all of these. And with having Dr. Mark Yarborough being someone who is so well respected, being a cameo appearance in this, Dallas Theological Seminary also being represented in it because it's a school that the lead attended in her studies. This particular organization has thrown its support behind this project, so they will be supporting the marketing, they will be helping bring in the audience when we're looking for previews for a project with different audiences. And you can never preview a film enough, because if I've seen it before, it doesn't— early without paying for it, it doesn't mean I'm not going to go see it again. It means I can't wait to see it when it comes out and take all my friends because I know how great it is.. So they will be key in that process. So these are the type of things that you can look for in a project and say, what is going to help this project be successful? Then you have our producers. You'll notice I'm a producer on this. George Escobar, Laurianne Beeland. You look at these individuals and you say, who, who and what have they done? I literally just finished filming a week ago, a project in Tennessee for a month called Prairie Winds. And that particular film project I'm very excited about. And, um, George Escobar and Joel Bankowski, you see here, who's part of our team, and the beautiful Tracy Gore. But Joel and George were a part of that project as well. So you want to see that these are individuals that know what they're doing. That are able to say that they're going to make a film and make it. And so that film is now in post-production. We have all kinds of films that are recognized from our filmmakers, from The Last Appeal here to Camp Cool Kids. There you'll see all kinds of different projects. Again, all of these projects being projects that have been on multiple different types of platforms, whether they've come out theatrically or they've come out on platforms. We'll talk about in a moment more of the distribution and the different possibilities of going out that you have with the film, but each one of these shows the range and the experience of the filmmakers. Kids Who Flip is one of the most recent projects from some of our team members that's gone out. Lisa Arnold was the director on that. Joel Bankowski was a part of that project. And our typical line— our line producer who is not listed in this pitch deck, but who we work with is also on that project. So Kids Who Flip has just come on to Angel and started, and so excited for that particular project. The, uh, it's very revolutionary. It's the first of its kind where you have, um, young kids, high school kids that are flipping houses. They are coming in, they are learning the business, they have mentorship and seeing the very real growth that it takes to make something like that happen, which is very exciting. So that particular, um, these are the types of projects. So you want to check that out as well. In addition, you want to look at comparables. You want to see what are the type of films that this is comparable to. Now you'll notice that Overcomer, Through His Only Son, these budgets are not the big blockbuster budgets. Those big blockbuster budgets, um, you do have to have hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank to be involved with a lot of times, but that's not the typical. Those are just a small percentage percentage of studios and big investors and studio investments. Most films are from individuals, and their investments can be much, much smaller. They could be, um, $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 to $250,000 to $1 million to $2, $3 million that people are putting into these projects. So as you can see, it's all about how it is structured. The budgets on these that I'm showing you are as comparables because the Daughter's Voice is a $3.5 million budget, is between $500,000 and $15 million. Notice that this $500,000 project brought in $13 million. That's quite a return. $3 million brings in $123 million, $6 million bringing in $68 million. Um, again, just going through each of these, you can see that there's quite, um, quite a nice return on these, these different films. Now there's the ministry impact on this. Each one, as I said, on this particular one, um, the story lends itself for the impact to be on supporting people who might be thinking about or battling with, if you will, suicidal thoughts, women who are looking at needing support and community, people that are dealing with grief. So issues that are brought up, we have the opportunity to partner with different community and religious organizations, whatever it is that matches the particular issues in it for support. A lot of films just put the story out there, but we in particular like to partner with and provide resources if it brings up strong— could possibly bring up strong emotions or feelings, which most films do. So there's another opportunity for that long-term legacy impact that we're talking about. Now again, on the business side, Tax incentives. Investments today in the film industry, um, can be stronger opportunities when there are tax incentives for that film in the state that the film is being, uh, shot. For instance, this film is in Texas. It's very competitive now. It's getting very competitive, uh, with several of the states. Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, uh, Kentucky. They're all rivaling, um, the— Pennsylvania is working on that as well. They're all rivaling California big time, uh, giving incentives. Texas gives up to 31% incentive rebate. That is a huge deal because when you have a $3.5 million film and you can get 30% of that back, that's a lot. That is money that doesn't have to be made back through the box office, doesn't have to be made back through distribution. And in fact, because we also have marketing, which we'll talk about, funds for it, it can in essence bring back the market— the marketing budget to you and make all that you have profit. So 20% is the base rate for that $3.5 million that we use, and then no sales tax and no field tax. That is— that in and of itself again makes a difference. Then we have the, the basic investor opportunity is a 20% return on their initial investment paid from the film's net profits after the recoupment of any marketing expenses. So that 20% return on the initial investment is a great return, but again, time is an element, and that return is not going to be generally in one year because it takes longer to make a film and get the film out. But the long-term investment here is that the investor is going to receive pro rata share of 50% of the film's net profits in perpetuity. That's something that can go to you, your estate, your family for the life of the film. And I always look at films like It's a Wonderful Life. It is a classic Christian film, uh, it is a wonderful Christmas film that people have discovered from all ages. And over these decades, it continues to produce, uh, for its original investors. It is on new platforms every year. It is shown in new ways. There are products you can buy if you go on right now for It's a Wonderful Life as a phenomenon. And that is something that is continuous. And so That investment opportunity is one that I call a true legacy. And if you look, uh, here, I'll just note this: out of 100 faith-based theatrical releases, they've earned $1.34 billion just at the North American box office. That is not in any of the other possible distribution streams, just box office. Whereas in distribution for a film, you have not just the box office, which can be theatrical and also international, but you have streaming and licensing on platforms like Amazon Prime, Pureflix, Angel Studios. You have church and conference screenings. You have educational distribution that can happen through them and ancillary revenue. So all of these are different types of revenue that the investor can be sharing in. Um, with a basic business plan, you know what the cash is that's needed, and you can start off knowing what your cash grant is. And then going through each one of these film incentives— a pay-per-view premiere, uh, church showings, theatrical, Amazon Prime— whatever that initial base plan is, you can get a— or establish a general game plan for your film. And of course, when it comes down to it, you want to take your film through as many of these different streams as possible over the long term for that film. And there— and that long term is not a 2-year, a 5-year, it's a forever. So I just will point out, so adorable, this is Anita Carmen, whose film is A Daughter's Voice, and this is her adorable granddaughter And this— there's so much more I could be additionally sharing with you all, but as we're going, I wanted to limit the slides and really focus in on that, on those that would be most relevant. So that's kind of a case study of walking through and seeing how can I see, what do I want to look at to show me that this is going to be potentially a good investment for me. The impact, the, in the team, um, the investment opportunity that I can jump into. Lastly, I thought I would share is the marketing. There is the investment in the film. Say I missed out, I'm like, darn it, I didn't get in on A Daughter's Voice. Well, once the film is made, you have the opportunity to invest in the marketing. I may have missed out on that, but I have the opportunity to jump into the marketing because once films go out, especially independent films, which is most films, um, there is a marketing budget. And maybe I, I'm going to do a $1.5 million or $2 million marketing budget. Um, some do, you know, there's so many different budgets out there depending on what the plan is. But say I've got a $2 million marketing budget Well, I can jump in in the marketing, and the benefits of it is that my 20% is a, um, is comes out first. Marketing is paid off as a bill first. And so those marketing expenses are paid and the investment. Now what you miss out on though is the long-term legacy or perpetuity. You do not actually get a piece of the film's, um, actual profits. You are— but you are guaranteed to get your finances first. And so that is something that is secondary that sometimes people get involved with. Many filmmakers or film investors that really understand the, the business, they will put into the film and then also put into the marketing, because what they're doing is giving themselves the opportunity to get some of their funds back right away, and also helping to ensure that their film gets the marketing that it needs to do well in whatever marketing plan that they have. So let me answer any questions that you have. Tracy, what did I miss?

Yes, okay, so the only thing I think that you might need to expand on is what is a, you know, a typical timeline from, say, the initial investment, the vision of the movie, take us through production and when it could actually get released and just, you know, what kind of timeline should people expect?

So again, as I said earlier, um, a film is not done quickly, um, but it's probably quicker than a lot of people think. Most films, uh, for a typical film, as I said, we went through, uh, we did Prairie Winds and it's basically a month-long process. For filming. So many films are shot within 4 to 6, 4 to 6 weeks. There are those that are the epic sweeping films that are in Ireland and all those things, and that's going to take months to film. Um, but again, not the typical film. The typical film is going to be what I'm saying, which I would say is more like a 4 to 6 week filming process, and Um, and with— but prior to that, you need production, pre-production. So that means you're casting, you are putting your team members in place, you're finding locations, uh, you're doing all of those particular things. And it's important that people realize that that is happening sometimes before it's all fully funded. Like, producers are just making it happen, believing by faith. But that does— and there are certain things that will not happen until it is fully funded. So we do need that lead time. So I say with most films, you've got to give them, uh, from the time you make the investment, you really need to give them a solid year to make the film so that they can do all that needs to be done. Because now we also have post-production. Now it goes and we colorize, we do the music, we do So it can take, um, again, it can take at minimum— I tell people you can't expect any film to go out, uh, before 18 months, and 18 months is, is quick for a film because you also want to market it. So once we've got that film done, we want to market that film, and we want people to know that it's coming out. Now, of course, people do Christmas films in— notoriously in February. For a December release and they do things quicker. But I don't want to share, tell people that that's the typical film because it's not. So we, you really have to ask those questions on your investment and just, uh, and again, look at it as, um, the long game as opposed to the get rich quick. Exactly.

So I got one more question. So, um, there was a change in the tax code recently, or a— one of the codes expired that had given a lot of tax benefit to the investor. Can you kind of briefly touch on that?

Well, there— as there have been those that have expired, there are also new tax opportunities and tax breaks that are available to people. There is always the opportunity to both invest and donate into them. There are tax incentives that happen for the film, and there are tax breaks. It's always— it's important for you to go to your CPA and to ask them about those particular tax codes for this year, 2026, that are brand new and how they can help you and your portfolio.

Excellent. That was— that's great. Does anybody else have any questions?

Catherine Bell, this is amazing. So, um, yeah, I can already see. So this— here's what I love about this. This is a couple of things that it fulfills on: doing good and doing well, right? Like the whole message. And just, again, I love true stories. I love stories that uplift and just encourage. That's always like my go-to. Um, and that make an impact. Like, there's so many I could like list off. Um, And of course, the adding commas to bank accounts, but diversifying portfolios. So this is an asset class that people don't know about. And yes, I think the perception is that you've got to be like some multi-gazillionaires to invest in these, and that's not the case. So I know moving forward with the Seven Streams Investor Club, that having this be one of the streams is going to be super important. So I want people to reach out to us. We're going to be launching our 7 Streams Fund, our very first one here in the next couple of weeks. So we want people to reach out to us about that, to learn about how to create 7 streams of passive income and to be diversified into this asset class as well as all the other asset classes. Because again, it's— this is— yeah. Oh my gosh. Yes. 1,000 times. Yeah. So freaking exciting. So yeah, we're excited to have you here.

Yeah, I think that's always great because I, I mean, I just learned so much today that I have never heard about, never even knew, like even, oh, you can invest in a marketing and not that part, and what, like why you would make that decision and why people make those decisions. I think that's just so amazing to just learn and understand. Um, how to invest in different things that, like, lots of people love movies. Like, I love movies, and especially like those stories about what happened in someone's life. So this has just been so amazing.

Truly. Yeah, this is amazing. I'm so happy you came on. Thank you. This is so amazing.

Well, thank you all so much for giving me the opportunity to share. Um, again, it is, I think, exciting, and I would love to more individuals really see that this is a part of their— this can be a part of their portfolio and a part of their legacy, as I said, that they leave. You know, it could be that you're about sports or you're about whatever it is, you know, whatever that message is or whatever that thing that you'd like to see go on. This is one really, I think, a fun and exciting way to do it. And I say fun and exciting because it's like a sports team when you have a film. You can follow it all the way through and know that you're a part of it. You know, if— what, what if you're a part of Spider-Man, right? And that's what your family's into, and you're watching and you're like, hey. And with most independent films, um, the independent filmmakers are very open, uh, with their investors and invite them to come to this— to, um, set to see what's happening so they can be a part of it. We did that on Prairie Winds, and it was so fun to have the investors there and to, um, enjoy the experience you know, and be a part of it. And then to be there at the preview, you know, parties with the wrap party, all those different things. It's just, it's, it's a fun experience that your family can be a part of.

I love that. Thank you so much. This has been amazing.

Amazing. Thank you. This is incredible.

Thank you so much for inviting me. And if there are any questions that you have or any of your clients, I am so happy to answer them.

Yeah, I'm clear that we're going to be doing more of this as we go. And again, creating the 7 streams of passive income for our community. This is definitely an asset class that everybody needs to be in. This is really cool.

I agree.

Yeah, so awesome. So thank you, thank you, thank you. And thank you, ladies, for again, just extraordinary human beings doing extraordinary things. So love you all, appreciate you all, and I'm really excited for what we have coming next. So anybody who's watching this, you want to learn about 7 streams of passive income and adding those commas to your bank account to not only protect your family but to go make a difference in the world. Make sure you reach out to us because we are launching our first fund. You don't have to be an accredited investor. It's a very small amount to get investing and start being a part of those 7 streams. So we're super excited.

And it's a club. It's not a fund. It's a club. Yeah.

Yep, we're super excited. So thank you everyone, you're amazing. I love and appreciate you all, and we will be talking to you later. Bye everyone.

Bye.

Visit my7streams.org to join the club.