The Creator Economy Is Coming for Indie Film (And That's a Good Thing!)

Reflections from Sundance 2025

Photo credit: Sundance Institute

"If you don’t have a robust distribution plan that includes creative ways to connect my film directly with an audience, then get out."

That’s what filmmaker Tarek Albaba told an audience at Sundance's Muslim House last week — and indirectly told all indie film distributors. He wasn't just venting frustration at an offer he had recently received, he was declaring independence. After walking away from a distribution deal that would have taken all rights to his film 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime with no real plan for reaching audiences, Albaba was putting the entire system on notice: filmmakers aren't buying the old model anymore.

And why should they? Sundance 2025 painted as clear a picture as ever that the business of independent film is more than halfway off the rails.

• Exhibit A: From opening night, America’s preeminent film festival felt debilitatingly stunted, as film premiere chatter was drowned out by somber conversations about two looming uncertainties: the ongoing recovery from the Los Angeles fires, and the festival’s impending 2027 departure — and what a Sundance Cincinnati might look like.

• Exhibit B: The itself festival featured at least half a dozen panels discussing, demonstrating and advocating “alternative” or “independent” distribution models — all of which declared the current distribution landscape an abject disaster.

• Exhibit C: A week after the festival closing, only four films have been acquired by distributors.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, but from a filmmaker’s perspective, Sundance 2025 offered little inspiration. The problems facing this industry are many, and the overwhelming concern is properly directed at distribution. Unfortunately, the festival also demonstrated that there is a sizable gulf between the problem and solution: While distribution consultants were imploring filmmakers to find their audience, just a couple doors down Main Street content creators were sharing stories of how they built massive audiences using new digital tools, novel storytelling approaches, and by actually listening to what their audiences wanted. The two sides seemed to miss each other, at a moment where they might need each other most.

If the indie film industry is going to survive beyond Sundance’s final days in Park City, it needs to look to its upstart competitor replacement — the creator economy — for tips on reaching meaningful audiences.

New Models, New Infrastructure

I’m not the first to make this observation - Adam Petrey at Film School Sucks made the case for an emergent indie film scene rooted in filmmaker autonomy. But it’s one thing to tell filmmakers they need to build direct audience relationships, and quite another to actually provide the infrastructure to help them do it. The traditional indie film world often treats audience development as something that happens after the fact, once the film is complete and ready for distribution. But in the creator economy, audience building is integrated into the creative process itself. The filmmaker is the first audience member - they're making the film they want to see, and as the project evolves, they can bring others along on that journey.

This isn't just theoretical. Look at the phenomenon of the "Letterboxd Girls" who showed up in force at Sundance for the premiere of BUNNYLOVR, drawn by star and producer Rachel Sennott's connection to that community. As

Richard Rushfield

noted in his newsletter, this represents a new generation of film fans who engage with cinema in fundamentally different ways than traditional arthouse audiences. Filmmakers who understand and tap into these communities aren't just finding viewers - they're building sustainable careers outside the traditional system.

The infrastructure to support this shift is emerging on the distribution side. John Fithian's new venture Attend is developing tools to help filmmakers strike direct deals with theaters, while platforms like

Kinema for Filmmakers

(Kinema) and Jolt are creating new pathways for community-driven screenings. These are amazing tools that give filmmakers more control over their destinies by removing institutional gatekeepers from the equation. When filmmakers build direct relationships with their audiences, they gain the freedom to tell more challenging stories, take bigger creative risks, and develop sustainable careers on their own terms. But each of these tools still ask filmmakers to bear the responsibility for discovering and attracting an audience.

Documentary's Natural Advantage

This is where the creator economy comes in, and where documentary film will serve as the ideal breeding ground. At its core, documentary is built for community engagement - these films often explore specific issues or topics with natural, identifiable audiences. When I spoke with W. Kamau Bell at Sundance about his recent move to Substack, he emphasized how direct audience connection has transformed his approach to storytelling. Bell has built trust with his audience over years of thoughtful engagement around social justice issues. When he makes a documentary, he's not just a filmmaker seeking distribution - he's a trusted voice advancing an ongoing conversation with his community.

The challenge, of course, is how lesser-known filmmakers can build these audiences from scratch. The sentiments of Tarek Albaba’s statement at the Muslim House were echoed by another filmmaker, Razi Jafri, whose first feature premiered at SXSW, and who is now in post-production on a documentary about the Uncommitted movement in Michigan. Both of these filmmakers represent the future of audience-driven documentary. They're not just making films about their communities - they're active participants in ongoing conversations about justice and representation. Their potential audiences aren't abstract demographics to be reached through traditional marketing - they're communities these filmmakers are already part of, whose stories they're uniquely positioned to tell.

This approach flips the traditional independent film model on its head. Instead of making a film and then trying to find its audience, these filmmakers start with a deep understanding of their community's needs, interests, and perspectives. The audience isn't just the end point of distribution - it's the foundation that shapes what stories get told and how they're told. Unfortunately, both of these guys are still faced with the same problem: They don’t have the time or money to build that audience — they’re busy making movies!

The Creator Economy producer who adapts her skillset to the needs of documentary filmmakers will find herself in an incredibly valuable position.

As

Evan Shapiro

has dutifully documented cartographed, we're watching a reformation of media happen in real time. While traditional media conglomerates and tech titans are busy dismantling the mass media industry (and likely replacing human creativity with AI-generated crap designed to keep you on their platforms), content creators have built sophisticated tools and tactics for community building. The infrastructure independent filmmakers need might not come from traditional film industry sources - it's more likely to emerge from folks who understand how creators actually build and monetize audience relationships.

The large-scale shift won't be easy. It requires filmmakers to develop new skills and mindsets, expanding their focus beyond the craft of filmmaking to include audience development and community building. This is where innovative producer-director partnerships become crucial. Just as successful content creators often pair with business-minded managers, documentary directors need producers who understand both traditional film production and modern audience engagement strategies.

Some will resist this change, arguing that thinking about audience too early in the process compromises artistic vision —as Rick Rubin wrote, "In terms of priority, inspiration comes first. You come next. The audience comes last." While this might work in music, where production costs are relatively low, it's an increasingly unsustainable approach for independent film. The reality is that making movies requires resources, and those resources increasingly come from having a clear path to audience — not to mention, a well-designed distribution plan that is not dependent on gatekeeper (streamer) approval would likely prove MUCH more appealing to a financier!

Independent film isn't dying - it's evolving. The filmmakers who will thrive in this new landscape are those who understand that distribution isn't something that happens after the film is complete. It's a relationship with audience that begins with the first spark of inspiration and grows alongside the creative process itself. The tools and methods of the creator economy aren't a threat to independent film - they're the key to its future.