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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...
Why the current post-production and release pipeline is still built around insecure links, scattered notes, and outdated habits
How piracy, leaks, and weak screener security can hurt filmmakers, investors, and distribution momentum
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
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
How fear-based thinking shapes decisions around marketing, exposure, festivals, and distribution
What “LVOD” means to Kino and how the company tried to create a window that adds marketing value without cannibalizing TVOD
Why MacRae and Fannin believe filmmakers need to think like business builders, not just artists, when raising money
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
Why Undertone made sense as a fund project: one location, a contained story, and a production model that matched the script’s scale
How equity participation and aligned incentives can help cast, crew, and investors move in the same direction
Why iteration, early feedback, and collaborative review should play a larger role in filmmaking, much like they do in tech and animation
What kinds of projects Kino is pursuing next, including a Band of Brothers documentary and more genre-focused features
Memorable Quotes:
“Something’s not working and we’re going to dig into it.”
“Fear makes you stupid.”
“Coming to the table with great art is table stakes.”
“It’s not about the project, it’s about the people you’re surrounding yourself with.”
Guests:
Brit MacRae
Daril Fannin
Resources:
Kino
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