Producing Your Independent Film with Atit Shah (On Demand)
About this On Demand Course
This is an On Demand course. On Demand courses allow you to watch pre-recorded lectures at your own pace, with curated resources and other materials to support your work. You can begin taking this course at any time.
In order to serve more of the Sundance Collab community, we developed this On Demand course from existing live online course content. By doing so, we are able to offer Producing Your Independent Film with Atit Shah (On Demand) at a price that allows more people to benefit from the course content.
Producer Lawrence Turman wrote, “The best producers have the taste and creativity of an artist, the mind-set of an entertainer, the people skills of a politician, the business acumen of a CEO, the insight of a psychotherapist, the ebullience of a cheerleader, the tenacity of a pitbull, the charm of a snake-oil seller, the delegating ability of a Five-Star General, the malleability of a chameleon and the dedication of a monk.”
Join us in this On Demand course where we dive into what it means to be a holistic, creative producer, responsible for having a broad view of everything that goes on in the life of a project, creatively and strategically. In this course you will learn about how to approach the development of your project, pitching your film, how and when to form your business, how to create your financing strategy, the producer’s role in production and post-production, and how to navigate film festivals and distribution.
- Module 1: Securing Rights & Collaborating with Writers
- Module 2: Pitching Your Film
- Module 3: Forming a Business
- Module 4: Financing Your Film
- Module 5: Pre-Production, Production & Post-Production
- Module 6: Film Festivals & Distribution
View the Outline tab for more details on the course.
All course videos are closed-captioned. For other accommodations and support services, please email us at accessibility@sundance.org.
On Demand CourseOutline
Topics include:
- The Producer’s role in development
- Collaborating with writers
- Chain of Title
- Optioning material
Topics include:
- Pitching elements
- Guidelines for pitching
- Making a plan
- Electronic pitches
Topics include:
- Understanding the business structure of making a film
- Forming an LLC
- When to form your business
Topics include:
- The Producer’s role in financing
- The components of film financing
- Working with sales agents
- The materials you need to put together financing
- What investors are looking for from Producers
Topics include:
- The Producer’s role in pre-production and production
- Putting together your team
- Working with your key collaborators
- Keys to scheduling and budgeting
- Making offers to talent
- The Producer’s role in post-production
- Understanding post-production terminology
- What to expect from the timeline and workflow
Topics include:
- The Producer’s role in film festivals and distribution
- Understanding the film festival landscape
- Creating a film festival strategy
- The role of a sales agent
- Understanding the distribution landscape
- What to expect from self-distribution
Team
Atit Shah
Instructor
Atit Shah is an award-winning film producer and CEO of Create Entertainment. Based in LA, he has produced over a dozen feature films, including Universal’s Remember Me, Netflix’s Brown Nation, and 20th Century Fox’s Money. His projects have garnered global distribution and numerous accolades, including 23 awards for Money.
Other notable titles include The Crash (2017) and his debut feature, An Act of War (2015). Recent releases include Monsoon (Amazon) and Forgive Don’t Forget (Hulu). Upcoming in 2026/27 are The Red Mask, An Enemy Within, Adventure Tom, Dope Queens, Footprints and Coco & Nut.
A George Washington University alum, Shah previously held roles at Thomson Reuters and teaches film finance at institutions like IFP and Sundance.
FAQ
Sundance Collab’s On Demand courses provide flexibility to learn on your own time, whenever you’re ready. On Demand courses do not provide you with feedback on your work, but they do provide suggested activities and curated resources.
Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion for all of the On Demand courses and the certificate will include the name associated with your Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Collab account under “Courses.”
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs.