Making an independent film can look a lot like starting a business.

There’s the creative part, of course. But there’s also the less romantic work of finding money, pulling together a team, solving problems as they come, and figuring out who might actually show up for the finished thing. For filmmakers outside the studio system, those two jobs are hard to separate.

Film Independent has encouraged filmmakers to think more like entrepreneurs, in part because the movie is only one piece of what they’re building. Keeping it alive takes a different set of instincts.

For faith-driven filmmakers trying to make work on their own terms, the comparison feels especially useful. Sometimes the first move isn’t waiting for the right company, investor, or opportunity to appear. It’s looking at what you already know how to do and building from there.

This week, we’re exploring what it takes to build something of your own with the skills, conviction, and opportunities God has already given you.

Believe it or not, Ghostbusters is actually one of the great movies about starting a business. Three academics lose their university jobs and turn a very specific skill set into a service. They lease an office, buy equipment they can barely afford, and try to convince New York that what they’re selling is real. The ghosts get most of the attention, but underneath it all is a scrappy startup story about figuring things out as you go.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Chris Gardner is trying to build a better life while almost everything seems to be working against him. Broke, raising his young son, and eventually homeless, he keeps moving toward an opportunity that could change their future. The movie isn’t really about entrepreneurship in the traditional sense. It’s about continuing forward when there’s little proof the bet will pay off. For independent creatives, there’s something familiar in taking the next step before you know where it leads.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Independent filmmaking rarely stops with the movie itself. Without a studio behind you, you’re usually taking responsibility for everything around it, too: the money, the team, the audience, and whatever comes next.

For Christian creatives, that kind of ownership can mean something more. More control over the work gives you more say over the stories you pursue, the people you bring into them, and what you choose to do if the work starts to grow.

Dallas Jenkins, the creator and director of The Chosen, offers a familiar example. Years before the series became a global success, he made The Shepherd, a small Christmas film originally intended for his church. The short eventually helped show there was an audience for the much larger project he wanted to build.

Lucas Wollschlager has been thinking about a similar idea from another corner of the Christian world. Through The Solo Operator, he writes about Christians building their own businesses and what ownership can make possible.

Lucas argues that more Christians should consider entrepreneurship, not because everyone needs to become a founder, but because ownership creates choices. It can shape how you spend your time, what you support, and how closely your convictions sit to the work itself. Sign up for Lucas' Free 3 Step Guide to Turning Your God-Given Gifts into a Business.

For filmmakers, the tools are different, but the question is similar. Independence isn’t only about getting to make your own thing. It’s about deciding what you want that freedom to be for.

_{*This week’s “Spotlight Series” is part of a collaborative exchange between Plumb News and The Solo Operator. No compensation was exchanged. We just thought Lucas’ perspective was worth sharing with the Plumb community.}

The results are in! 67% of you voted for “Free access to the full series” in last week’s poll: What would make you most likely to try a vertical drama?

Letter to the Editor: A reader of last week’s Plumb News started an interesting discussion.

A few months ago, we wrote about betting on yourself. But once you’ve made the bet, a harder question usually follows: What do you actually do next?

Lucas Wollschlager’s advice for aspiring solo operators starts in a pretty unglamorous place. Don’t obsess over the logo, website, or perfect launch. Start with a skill you already have, find a real need, and put something useful in front of people who already know you.

Filmmakers can take a similar approach. Maybe the feature film is still out of reach. That doesn’t mean the idea has to sit still. Make the short. Cut the teaser. Shoot the proof of concept.

That’s the thinking behind the P.R.O.V.E. Method™:

The takeaway is to stop treating proof as the final step. A simpler version can help you learn what works, show others why the idea matters, and make the next opportunity easier to earn.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

Creative work has a way of keeping our attention on what’s missing. A bigger budget. The right connection. More time. Better equipment. Someone willing to finally say yes.

But this verse shifts the focus elsewhere. It begins with what has already been given.

For filmmakers, that can look like years spent learning a craft, a particular instinct for story, or an idea that keeps asking to be made. None of it guarantees where the work will lead, but all of it is something to steward now.

That can be one of the harder parts of building anything with faith. You rarely get the whole map at the beginning. More often, you have what’s in front of you and a choice about what to do with it.

In independent filmmaking, stewardship can be as simple as using what you’ve been given well. Take the next step, keep building, and trust God with the parts you can’t see yet.

Until next time,

THE PLUMB NEWS TEAM