Highlights: Jan 2026 AMA with Marc Iserlis

Thanks to everyone who joined Marc Iserlis, head of Republic Film, for our January AMA. Marc walked through Republic's approach to film financing and what we accomplished so far.

Republic Film launched in 2024 to address a gap in Hollywood: independent filmmakers need capital but lack access to non-predatory funding sources. Traditional studios and streamers often take all backend rights through cost-plus deals, eliminating upside for creators and investors. Republic's model lets filmmakers raise from their communities while maintaining creative control and sharing revenue with investors.

We ran four campaigns in 2024, raising $11 million total. 

• Pressman Film raised $2 million

• Robert Rodriguez raised $2 million, and every investor got to pitch Robert a film idea as part of the slate. 

• Eli Roth’s The Horror Section raised over $6M, and Republic investors were invited to a private premiere of Jimmy and Stiggs and met Eli in person.

• Ron Perlman raised $1 million for an artist-first production company. 

All campaigns got sold out or waitlisted.

Investors receive pro-rata portions of net profits in perpetuity as films generate revenue from theatrical releases, streaming deals, and licensing. Pressman Film is already preparing to distribute returns from one project that secured distribution with Neon.

Republic Film operates across the entire value chain—development financing for scripts and IP, production financing for completed projects ready to shoot, and distribution financing for marketing. The model works similarly to venture investing with a portfolio approach, where one successful film can drive significant returns while others break even or underperform.

The campaigns attracted 6,000 net new investors to Republic's platform. Distributions are facilitated through blockchain rails and USDC, with a one-year lockup period per SEC requirements before secondary trading becomes available on INX.

We also talked about the upcoming film campaigns in 2026. Stay tuned for official announcements coming soon!