Goooooooood morning FilmStack!
Courtney here with an update on the NonDē 50 Films Project, a regular column here on FilmStack Daily Digest. Subscribe so you get all the good stuff.
Here’s What’s Happening This Week:
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ND50 Filmmakers: Start Working on Your Data Sets
Data is integral to the movement. Why? Two Reasons!
FOR THE PEOPLE OUT THERE: Even though you and I know the economic and creative realities of being a filmmaker and why the non-dependent film movement is essential, it can just sound … well… kind of anecdotal to the outside world. Data helps ground our lived experiences in facts and figures to paint the broader picture for the audiences, financiers, and partners.
FOR THE PEOPLE IN HERE: Data helps us make better decisions faster and with more confidence. The data we collect in 2026 will help us move with more agility in 2027, and beyond. Remember, it’s not just about one movie. It’s about a body of work, and the movement at large.
The goal by this time next year is to put together a NonDē 50 Films Project Digital Handbook that reports back on every film made in 2026. If we have 50 films, we’ll have 50 in-depth case studies. The value of tracking all of this data can’t be understated.
We’ll briefly talk more about this at the upcoming meeting on December 18th (info below), but no reason you can’t get started now.
So, what kind of data should you be recording and keeping on file? Let’s make a list!
Here are some examples of data to track during your NonDē production process:
Audience Demographics
age
location
career & interests
how they consume media
which Substacks, podcasts, Discords, etc. they subscribe to or participate in
Cast and Crew Information
how many people on set
how many days
costs and budget associated with arts workers
any worker-owned legal agreements
Financing
funding sources
how many investors on this film
budgets
crowdfunding stats
breakdown of funding, where does it come from?
conversion rates (i.e. how many pitches until you got your next financial ‘yes’)
Distribution
revenue / profit
unique views / total views
which windowing strategies did you use
which windows had the highest return
biggest audience gain
biggest revenue gain
Marketing
audience conversion rates on paid ads
audience conversion rates on organic marketing
Average Order Value (AOV) for audience/customers
impressions / reach of each marketing asset
how many press/pr hits
Production Timelines
how many weeks/months in each stage (development, pre-, production, post-, distribution)
This isn’t a definitive list, just a working start. But take a look at it and think about what you could start tracking now. You don’t have to track absolutely everything at all times, but it’s a healthy practice.
As the saying goes: what gets measured grows.
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NonDē Distribution Planning Template & Collaborators List
Ted Hope has taken a lot of guesswork out of it for us, folks. In just these two posts alone, he’s put together the basics of a robust, ready-to-grow NonDē strategy. Make sure you don’t miss these. Share them with your teams. If you don’t know where to start, it’s here.
NonDē Distribution Planning Template:
Collaborators List:
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This Week: ND50 in Action
Anytime I see someone else doing the thing, I get incredibly jealous. And this tells me, I oughta stop complaining and go do the thing! So! Let’s cheer on these ND50 filmmakers who are sharing their BTS and showing the actions they’re taking.
Cheer them on, give them a LIKE, subscribe and follow them on Substack. Let’s hype each other up. It’s good for all of us!
ZTennyson shares the previz!
Lauren Greenwood shares her update from pre-production!
Brooke Berman shares her next development & pre-production steps!
Michael Lavine shares about locations, casting, & finding a producer!
Jennifer Esposito shares a video diary of making her next film!
Courtney Romano shares her writing process!
Charlotte Simmons shares an important insight!
“Making movies is hard.”1
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NEXT MEETING: The Distribution Playbook with Ami Vora
83 folks are already signed up! There’s room for at least 17 more, so grab your spot.
Ami will be presenting the Distribution Playbook and answering your distribution questions. This will be a great primer for all the moving parts of a non-dependent distribution strategy. It’s important to understand when budgeting (deciding how much you’ll need for distro) and financing (showing your investors where/when you’re planning their ROI).
THURSDAY DECEMBER 18th at 3p PT / 6p ET
Show up live with your project-specific questions, as the meeting may not be recorded.
50 FILMS IN SEARCH OF…
Take a look at the list below and offer to help where you can — send them a DM!
If you need help, put it out there on Notes and tag me so we can amplify it here on FSDD. Same goes for if you’re offering help!
Hudson Phillips in ATLANTA:
ISO: a colorist
ISO: Film accounting (not production accounting, but juggling multiple films & investors & backend points & bank accounts & taxes etc after they have come out)
Courtney Romano (me) in PROVIDENCE:
ISO: a line producer to review my budget and tell me what I missed!
IMPORTANT INFO
If you’re not sure what the NonDē 50 is, start here:
WHAT IS NONDĒ?
NonDē cinema is non-dependent on the current Hollywood ecosystem, and instead asserts the creative, financial, distribution and all forms of cultural control as the intentional responsibility of the individual team. Collectively, the workers in the NonDē movement leverage collaboration over competition, the sharing of institutional knowledge, and mutual support systems to help amplify both the individual films and a bigger movement that prioritizes the sustainability of the art, artist, audience, and cinema ecosystem.
WHAT IS NONDĒ 50?
It’s a coordinated and organized effort to get 50 NonDē films made in 2026.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
This is a fundamental question I address in the original essay (below), but the TL;DR version is that our individual films gain more traction and assert more impact when they’re in the context of each other. I look at NonDē as a political movement and the films are the individual races for office. When one of us does better, we all do better.
WHO IS INVOLVED?
Everyone from indie veterans to first time filmmakers!
Here is the official list of everyone signed up so far. Add your info and join up.
There are already 78 people signed up for our next meeting. Of course, you and I both know none of this would be happening if Ted Hope hadn’t written and encouraged us all to get on the non-dependent train.
Here’s the original post with more info:
✅ Running list of all NonDē 50 Films Projects HERE. Sign up if you haven’t already!
✅ Register for the 12/18 Distribution Playbook meeting HERE.
And for good measure…
Liz Manashil I think you’d agree, no? :)