6-Week Film Finance & Packaging Accelerator — American Film Association

AFA Program

6-Week Film Finance & Packaging Accelerator

Six sessions. A complete financial package. The credential that gets you into the room.

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6 Weekly Zoom Sessions Live & Interactive $2,997 AFA Certificate
6
Weekly Sessions
4
Capital Stack Layers
1
Complete Package Built
Nov 8
Gala Recognition

About the Program

The Program That Builds Your Investor Package

Most filmmakers can pitch a story. What they can't do is walk an investor through a capital stack, defend a budget by department, or explain why a transferable tax credit is not a bonus — it's the floor of the deal.

The AFA 6-Week Film Finance & Packaging Accelerator fills that gap. Over six live Zoom sessions, you build the complete financial package that serious investors require: budget structure, financing tools, cast strategy, pre-sales mechanics, distribution lane, and investor psychology.

This is not a film school. It is a six-week guided build. You arrive at Week 6 with a package in your hands — one you built, understand, and can defend in any investor conversation.

What You Walk Away With

01 A complete, credible financial package — budget, capital stack, and investor pitch-ready.
02 A calculated equity gap — the exact number you ask investors to fund, not the whole budget.
03 Cast strategy as a financing tool — how the right name generates pre-sales capital.
04 The AFA Certificate in Film Finance & Packaging and public recognition at the November 8 Gala.

The Curriculum

Six Weeks. One Complete Package.

Every session builds on the one before. By Week 6, every piece is connected.

Week 01
Your Project's Budget Ceiling
How comparables determine what your project can legitimately raise. Build the number investors will believe — derived from data, not instinct. Establish the financial foundation every other session builds on.
Week 02
The Pitch Deck
What investors actually look for in a deck. Positioning, comps, team, creative vision, and the financials presented in the order that builds trust. Build your deck live during the session.
Week 03
Budget, Financing Tools & the Capital Stack
Budget as a credibility document, not a cost list. Tax incentives as financing tools — transferable credits, cash rebates, bankable vs. non-bankable. Soft money as Layer 3. The full four-layer capital stack built live — your equity gap calculated on screen.
Week 04
Cast Strategy & Pre-Sales
Cast as a financing decision, not just a creative one. How name talent generates minimum guarantee pre-sales from territory buyers. Pay-or-play mechanics. Adding Layer 2 to your capital stack with real pre-sale targets.
Week 05
Marketing & Distribution
Distribution is a decision you make before you shoot — not something that happens after. SVOD, TVOD, AVOD, theatrical, and hybrid strategies. How your distribution lane shapes your investor return model and your marketing budget.
Week 06
Investor Psychology & The Close
How sophisticated investors evaluate risk, return, and operators. The frameworks they use and the signals that kill deals before they start. How to present your complete package, handle objections, and close the conversation — not just survive it.

Program Outcomes

Built for Filmmakers Who Are Ready to Raise

📊
Investment-Ready Package
You finish the program with a complete financial package — budget structure, capital stack, pitch deck, and distribution lane. Not a template. Yours, built during the sessions.
🏛
AFA Certificate
Upon completion you receive the AFA Certificate in Film Finance & Packaging. Recognized publicly at the November 8 Gala at the Beverly Hilton before an audience of 500 industry professionals.
🔑
Pro Membership Access
Completing the Accelerator qualifies you for AFA Pro Membership — unlocking Film Fund access, investor introductions, PictureHaus Pro, and VIP Gala seating.

Who This Is For

Directors and Producers Who Are Serious About Getting Funded

The Accelerator is designed for filmmakers who have a project in development and are ready to learn the financial and business mechanics required to fund it.

Writer-Directors
You know your story. This program teaches you to build the financial package around it — so you can sit across from an investor and speak their language.
Independent Producers
You're raising for your first or second feature. You need a capital stack, not just a budget number, and a credible structure investors can evaluate.
Emerging Film Executives
You're building a slate and need fluency in deal structure, incentive stacking, and how financing decisions and creative decisions interact at every stage.
Industry Professionals Moving into Production
You have the industry relationships. This program gives you the financial and packaging literacy to convert those relationships into funded projects.

Questions

Frequently Asked

Six weekly live Zoom sessions. Each session runs approximately 90–120 minutes with active chat participation, polls, and direct Q&A. Sessions are recorded — if you miss one, you can watch the replay before the next session.
You need a project in active development — ideally a script you're committed to, or a project you're seriously developing. You don't need to have financing in place. The program works if you're at concept with a clear direction through to a project that's ready to pitch.
No. This is a business program for filmmakers. We teach finance mechanics, deal structure, investor communication, and package building — not directing, screenwriting, or production craft. If you want to learn the business side of getting your film funded, this is the right program.
Six live sessions with Austin Spicer and AFA leadership. Session recordings. All course materials and worksheets. The AFA Certificate in Film Finance & Packaging upon completion. Access to the private Accelerator cohort community. Recognition at the November 8 Gala. Eligibility for AFA Pro Membership.
Every session is recorded. You'll have access to the full recording within 24 hours. The program is designed so that each session builds on the last — we recommend attending live when possible, but the recordings give you full access to the material.
The AFA Certificate in Film Finance & Packaging is the credential awarded upon successful completion of the Accelerator. Graduates are recognized publicly at the AFA Gala on November 8 at the Beverly Hilton in front of approximately 500 industry professionals. The certificate signals financial and packaging literacy to investors, producers, and executives in the industry.

Applications

Apply for the Accelerator

Spots are limited. Complete the form below and our team will be in touch within 48 hours to confirm your enrollment and next steps.

American Film Association

Six Weeks to a Package That Gets Funded.

Every filmmaker who walks into an investor meeting with a complete capital stack, a credible budget, and a clear distribution lane is having a different conversation than everyone else in the room.