Digital Hollywood: The AI & Entertainment Summit
Film Finance Reimagined: Crowdfunding, Community Capital & SEC Compliance
Independent film has always struggled with the same fundamental challenge — great projects disappear not because they lack quality but because they lack marketing muscle and audience awareness at the moment of release. A new generation of film finance models is changing that equation. Community-based investment platforms are building rolling funds that deploy capital specifically into marketing and distribution, creating sustainable cycles where returns from successful films fund the next wave rather than starting from zero each time. With 2,500 investors, multiple films in active release and millions raised before a single project was announced, the model is already producing results. In this session we examine how crowdfunding, community capital and SEC Regulation Crowdfunding compliance are combining to give independent film a genuine fighting chance in a crowded marketplace.
Speakers:
Paul Scanlan,
co-founder and CEO of Legion M, Moderator
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Screen Writer, “My Dead Friend Zoe"
Ross Putman,
Head of Production, Bee-Hive Productions, Distribution Strategy, Live Nation Studios
Paul Scanlan is the CEO and co-founder of Legion M, the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company. He leads the company’s mission to empower audiences to help finance, develop and distribute independent films. Under his leadership, Legion M has released original independent projects and expanded its audience-first approach into film distribution through initiatives like the Legion M Film Fund. Prior to Legion M, Paul co-founded MobiTV, where he helped pioneer mobile television and earned an Emmy Award for innovation.
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Award-Winning Director and Writer: Originally from Wisconsin, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes is an award-winning director and writer based in Los Angeles. He enlisted in the U.S. Army a month before 9/11, served five years as a paratrooper, and earned the Bronze Star in Iraq before using the G.I. Bill to graduate from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. He spent a decade directing commercials for brands including Google, UPS, IBM, the U.S. Air Force, and the Dept of Veterans Affairs. Kyle is the co-founder of Veterans in Media & Entertainment, a 5,000-member organization that connects Hollywood and military veterans. Kyle is the writer/director of MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE, an autobiographical dark comedy about veterans starring Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales. The film won the SXSW Audience Award, was released in theaters nationwide, and earned a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes—one of the highest-rated films of 2025.
Ross Putman, Head of Production Bee-Hive Productions: Ross Putman is a producer and distribution specialist based in Los Angeles. He is the Head of Production for finance and production company Bee-Hive Productions, whose films include the TIFF-premiering romantic crime thriller CAROLINA CAROLINE with Samara Weaving, the Michael Cera-Kristen Stewart starring comedy SACRAMENTO, and the TikTok cult hit DINNER IN AMERICA, which originally premiered at Sundance. He also handles all distribution strategy for Live Nation Studios, where he produced the global number-one box office hit STRAY KIDS: THE DOMINATE EXPERIENCE, which opened to $20M worldwide, and has helped shepherd films such as the Green Day-produced comedy NIMRODS which premiered at TIFF and will be released globally in August 2026.
