Triad Within Triad: Can Experimental Film be Profitable?

The Seventh Art - as the cinema is dubbed - is not the last in the list of arts but the most recent form of art. A century old already, the film industry has witnessed the emergence of the youngest member of the film family: the experimental film. This paper reports some results of a research-in-progress: a larger research project that started with setting the research framework of successive triads – specifically, the triad of experimental film. This model explores the interplay between artistic innovation, creative use of technology, and efficient resource management in the context of experimental filmmaking. While the mainstream film industry is astonishingly profitable, the experimental film (“indie”) does not share a similar enjoyable fate. The facts that many great filmmakers started their careers producing experimental movies (on one side) and that experimental films feature minimal resources and costs, would incline to hypothesize their profitability. On the other side, the common knowledge is that production of short movies (as experimental films) is a “waste of time, money and other resources”. Based mostly on secondary research, this essay launches the discussion on the profitability of the experimental film, challenging the above common knowledge. Two cases (results of primary research) are presented as argument for supporting the lead idea of this paper: the experimental film can be a profitable venture. The parallel discussion of cases uncovers, among findings, key factors for reaching profitability. Besides inherent limitations that indicate the paths for future research, this study has notable implications related to the sustainability and viability of experimental film production. Overall, practical arguments are brought in favor of the entrepreneurial potential of experimental endeavors in the film industry.