As actors our main goal is to act. We each have our own preferences of course, but in general, we want to play great roles in quality productions. Today, the Film/TV landscape is ever expanding with more and more new platforms that exhibit content, whether it be the many streaming services, traditional TV, or Film. But what has consistently maintained a strong, reliable, and very often quality presence in the industry is independent film. I’ll be honest, for an actor, indie film is not where the real money is. You would be hard pressed to make a living solely by acting in independent films. But does that mean it has no value? Absolutely not.
So then what are the benefits of booking indie films?
Well, I can tell you from firsthand experience, there are many benefits of booking indie film work. I’m an award-winning actor/writer/filmmaker whose films have been distributed worldwide by Warner Brothers, Netflix, Showtime, Starz, Hulu, Sky, Hallmark, Lifetime, LMN, Amazon, Apple, and many more.
Here just a few of the many benefits I’ve found to booking indie films:
1. Lower barrier to entry
In many ways, indie film evens the playing field for actors and filmmakers alike. It has a lower barrier to entry. We don’t have to spend years trying for our big break into the studio system of TV/Film, which can be much harder. We can still make a big splash in the industry in great indie films which often don’t require a long list of impressive credits to book.
2. Potentially great roles and/or films
Just because the barrier to entry is lower doesn’t mean the quality is any lower. In fact, indie film is a breeding ground for tomorrow’s best studio filmmakers and actors. Of course, with so many more indie films than studio films being made each year, the quality will vary, but the quality of better indie films each year is great and, in many cases, truly matches studio quality storytelling. In addition oftentimes the roles you may book in indie film may be larger or better roles than the ones you would be able to book at this stage in your career in studio Film or Television. If you book a role like this, it can be a game changer for your career.
3. Critical acclaim (awards, festivals, reviews, etc.)
Oftentimes, indie films are great vehicles for both actors and filmmakers. This is another big way indie film evens the playing field for actors. As I’ve mentioned, booking a lead or supporting role in an indie film is often easier than booking the same size role in a studio film, and yet you are still competing in the same pool for critically acclaimed films. There is really no ceiling to how successful an indie film can become, both critically and financially. Sure, it’s a small percentage of indies that actually get to compete with studio films at the Oscars each year, but they’re still there and they also sometimes win. You also have the Spirit Awards, SAG-AFTRA Awards, and the many other mainstream awards shows where indie films can break in. Of course, a critically acclaimed indie film that gets as far as these top awards shows also comes with reviews, interviews, publications, press, potential nominations or wins, etc. And yes, these are all very slim chances for indie films (as they are for all films really), but there are also an endless amount of other critical acclaim opportunities that are potentially available for indie films. Film Festivals are a great way for indie films to gather acclaim for both the filmmakers and actors. There are an estimated 3,000 Film Festivals each year across the globe. These all offer opportunities for official selections, awards, reviews, networking, and much more.
4. Exposure (film festivals, publicity, distribution)
This ties into the #3, but besides actual critical acclaim, exposure itself is hugely important for actors at any level. An indie film, whether it wins awards or not, is a great opportunity for exposure for an actor. Film Festivals themselves of course offer a lot of exposure with hundreds and sometimes thousands of people seeing the poster(s) and trailer(s) of your film in the Film Festival’s publications, email blasts, and other marketing, in addition to the many people that will see the film itself. Most Film Festivals also have a press component where they interview actors at the fest itself and sometimes on local TV and publications and sometimes even in industry publications such as Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, IndieWire, etc. These publications not only get the word out there about you and the film you are in, but they also may end up building your IMDb “News Article” section where any article that is written about you by an approved IMDb publication will now show up on your profile. This helps the professionalism of your page, your Starmeter, etc. Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, indie films that get distribution will give you obvious exposure of your performance being seen wherever the film is distributed. In some cases, this distribution can mean millions upon millions of eyeballs which can have a huge impact on your career.
5. Resume builder
In the simplest terms, booking an indie film of course adds a credit to your resume, but beyond that, if you can book a quality indie film that gains either commercial or critical acclaim, this one credit can mean a lot more than just a line on your resume. It can mean the difference between you booking future roles or not. A quality indie film that either gets major distribution or major critical acclaim for example automatically catapults you to a different category of actor that can now be considered for larger roles you may not have been considered for before. In addition, if you get nominated for or win any awards, these can and should also be added to your resume. *Always look for ways to “add value” to your package. Awards are just one way. You are your business and you need to package your product (you as an actor) the best you can.
6. Relationship builder
Lastly, booking indie films is a great relationship builder, but it is up to you to put in the effort. We all know this is a “relationship” industry. Don’t have any yet? Make them. Did you book an indie film? Great! Now make sure to go to ALL the film festivals it goes to, do all the press you can for it, go to all of the events, the premiere, the screenings, interviews, etc. If you booked a significant role in an indie film, it’s going to get you opportunities for networking and exposure you didn’t necessarily have before. Now it’s your responsibility to take advantage of that as best you can and make sure you do the work to get your name and your performance out there. Actors pay $5-10k per month to high level publicists. You just got a lot of what they get for free! Don’t let it go to waste.
Thanks for reading! Now that we know why we should care about booking an indie film, tomorrow's email will tell you HOW TO DO IT! Stay tuned…
Kent Moran
