A Path to Profitability in an Industry Built on Fear?

GG Hawkins speaks with Kino co-founders Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin about the broken handoff between post-production and release, and how insecure screeners, fragmented feedback workflows, and fear-based distribution norms undermine independent film. They break down Kino’s evolution from an interactive streaming idea into a secure post-to-delivery platform, explain how they built a film fund around de-risked sub-$2 million features, and use Undertone as a case study for aligning budgets, creative ambition, and profitability.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin discuss...

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Why the current post-production and release pipeline is still built around insecure links, scattered notes, and outdated habits

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How piracy, leaks, and weak screener security can hurt filmmakers, investors, and distribution momentum

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The original idea behind Kino and how it pivoted from interactive streaming to a B2B platform for secure screeners, dailies, cuts, approvals, focus groups, and final delivery

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Why discoverability is one of the biggest problems in independent film, and why indie projects are competing with TikTok and other forms of passive entertainment

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How fear-based thinking shapes decisions around marketing, exposure, festivals, and distribution

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What “LVOD” means to Kino and how the company tried to create a window that adds marketing value without cannibalizing TVOD

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Why MacRae and Fannin believe filmmakers need to think like business builders, not just artists, when raising money

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How Kino structured its film fund around contained, creatively aligned stories with budgets under $2 million and meaningful de-risking through incentives and exchange rates

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Why Undertone made sense as a fund project: one location, a contained story, and a production model that matched the script’s scale

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How equity participation and aligned incentives can help cast, crew, and investors move in the same direction

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Why iteration, early feedback, and collaborative review should play a larger role in filmmaking, much like they do in tech and animation

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What kinds of projects Kino is pursuing next, including a Band of Brothers documentary and more genre-focused features

Memorable Quotes:

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“Something’s not working and we’re going to dig into it.”

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“Fear makes you stupid.”

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“Coming to the table with great art is table stakes.”

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“It’s not about the project, it’s about the people you’re surrounding yourself with.”

Guests:

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Brit MacRae (imdb.com/name/nm6649341)

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Daril Fannin (imdb.com/name/nm7050977)

Resources:

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Kino (kino.studio)

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📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com

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