Frequently Asked Questions

For nearly seven decades, the market has had the opportunity to correct itself by creating new, innovative ideas and self-directing wise content decisions. The results have been inconsistent at best. If market forces could correct these problems, those corrections would have happened by now. Unfortunately, the current market is held hostage by two forces: 1) layers of conglomerates that own studios put profits at odds with the pursuit of artistic innovation, and 2) social agendas have become more important than good moives. 

The DCT, in its nonprofit form, is needed because there is both an artistic component and a business component to filmmaking. Charlton Heston is quoted as saying, "The trouble with movies as a business is that it's an art, and the trouble with movies as art is that it's a business." This insight sums up the challenge for Independent filmmakers--art takes intentional time, creativity, and practice that are often not afforded them. The DCT will assist filmmakers in completely developing each project before going into production and distribution. 

In early stages of a person's career, when income is delayed until the release of a film, sometimes for up to a year or two, many creators and their business entities do not survive. With a small grant covering development costs, both focused development and sustaining income are possible. This removes the desperation that often forces producers to go into production before a project is ready. 

Another incubating benefit of The DCT occurs for independent film companies receive production grants of up to 51% of their production budget. Grant money is not required to be repaid, allowing the film to move into profitability more quickly. When a film becomes profitable, grant-receiving filmmakers agree to make a donation to the trust of 10% of their gross proceeds. 

Many predict the advent of artificial intelligence will remove the need for human creators in the future. Though AI technologies will improve to the point of being able to generate amazing entertainment, they continue to be iterative and based on other works, making copyrighting AI-generated material impossible.

We expect that history will inform our future. AI technology will provide tools that allow artists to create even more innovative content for less. The once out-of-reach possibilities will become democratized. Therefore, The DCT will continue to embrace new technologies while remembering that history has also proven that “content is king.” We will utilize AI to help us tell better stories and do more business. History teaches us to trust that stories of true human experience will always powerfully motivate and touch people. New opportunities with technology will increase our ability to tell our stories while finding additional ways to monetize them. We look forward to these challenges and how The Digital Cinema Trust will be able to facilitate the work of people for good in the decades to come.