10 Lies Indie Filmmakers Are Told About Funding, Distribution, and Breaking In

⚔️ BERSERKER BATTLEPLAN: Shattering the 10 Lies of Filmmaking

🧨 LIE #1: "If your film is good enough, it will find distribution."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Build a Distribution Arsenal before you shoot:

  • Research real distributors, platforms, and territory buyers

  • Vet potential reps like they're applying to work for you

• Lock a sales pitch and deliverables blueprint BEFORE final cut

Berserker Rule: Good isn’t enough. Strategic gets sold. The deliverable list is not readily available online. We provide you a thorough list required by distributors.

🧨 LIE #2: "You don’t need contracts until it’s done."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Use a Pre-Production Lockdown Kit:

  • Chain of Title

  • Option/Purchase Agreements

  • Cast & Crew Releases

  • Music & Location Rights

• Own your IP before the first slate is clapped

Berserker Rule: No paperwork = no power.

🧨 LIE #3: "Distributors handle everything."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Learn QC specs, delivery formats, and metadata requirements

• Use our Fuck Your Formats checklist

• Prepare your ProRes, Textless, M&E, Subtitles, Artwork, and Contracts BEFORE you finish post

Berserker Rule: Don’t hand over a film. Hand over a weaponized product.

🧨 LIE #4: "Film school teaches you what you need."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Treat your first feature like a business launch, not a thesis

• Study distribution deals, waterfalls, and investor pitch decks

• Enroll in real-world education (like Filmmaker Berserk)

Berserker Rule: You don’t need permission. You need firepower.

🧨 LIE #5: "Festivals are the best way to sell your film."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Submit only to strategic festivals (genre-based, market-attached, or buyer-heavy)

• Build a direct-to-audience sales plan that runs regardless of selection

• If accepted: sell the room, not the trophy

Berserker Rule: Festivals are tools, not lifelines.

🧨 LIE #6: "Once it’s picked up, the checks come."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• DEMAND:

  • Transparent accounting

  • Net reporting schedules

  • Defined recoupment terms

• Use an audit clause and get legal review

Berserker Rule: No backend without a bulldog contract.

🧨 LIE #7: "Sales agents have your back."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Vet every rep like a potential thief

• Ask for:

  • Recent sales list

  • Client references

  • Expense caps in writing

• Use your distribution IQ to keep leverage

Berserker Rule: They don’t work for you until it’s in writing and confirmed as a payment upon sale type of deal. 

🧨 LIE #8: "Big names guarantee sales."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Cast for ROI, not ego

• Use name actors in key territories only if:

  • You understand MG potential

  • The genre supports it

• Always negotiate buyout vs points

Berserker Rule: Stars sell. But strategy sells better.

🧨 LIE #9: "If you build it, they will come."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Create a pre-release content war plan:

  • Teasers, behind-the-scenes, social builds

  • Email list, press kit, early fans, digital asset drops

• Start this during development, not post

Berserker Rule: Build the buzz while you build the film.

🧨 LIE #10: "You’ll figure it out as you go."

🎯 STRATEGY:

• Build a Berserker Blueprint:

  • Financing strategy

  • Ownership strategy

  • Deliverables gameplan

  • Exit strategy

• Know how your movie makes money BEFORE you hit “Record”

Berserker Rule: Prepare like a general. Fight like a savage.

🏁 FINAL CALL TO ARMS:

You’ve been lied to long enough.
It’s time to own your art, your masters, and your revenue.

Enroll in the Filmmaker Berserk Master Course — where we kill the myths, weaponize the truth, and show you how to build an empire off one film.

👉 www.FilmmakerBerserk.com
#KillTheGatekeepers | #OwnYourFilm | #BerserkerBuilt