In 2020, artist JN Silva he was in a room at the Clubhouse talking about NFT and the power of royalties when a prominent late-’60s psychedelic artist in the audience asked to speak. According to Silva, he shared: “I stumbled across this room. I had no idea what was going on. But this alone would have changed my life if it had been around when I was creating art.

The artist, whom Silva did not name, sold pieces throughout the ’60s and ’70s during what he called a “heyday period.” Today, however, his works are resold for millions, but due to the nature of physical artworks, he hasn’t seen a penny. “Imagine if I had been receiving royalties from all these works,” the artist told Silva, “I would have the mental freedom to keep practicing my creativity and not have to fight a past version of myself.

This emphasis on the importance of royalties and how they can provide continued opportunities for artists was a prominent theme during The Gateway panel “The State of Film NFTs” with Silva, filmmaker. Nelson G. Navarreteand filmmaker julie pacino on December 1, 2022.

Royalties “should never go away”

In the past, independent filmmakers have turned to traditional crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter to get funding for projects. From critically acclaimed action comedies like kung fury to award-winning horror movies like the babadook, crowdfunding has helped many cult classics come to life. But with the rise of NFT technology, some filmmakers are abandoning these platforms in favor of the fundraising opportunities of Web3.

Pacino, for example, made history as one of the first people to finance a movie with NFTs. The director worked to finance her film. I live here now through an NFT project called “Keepers of the Inn”, which consisted of 3,356 photos that he captured during the essay process.

One of the main reasons Pacino decided to turn to NFTs was because of the royalties. During the panel, he emphasized the importance of royalties, saying that they “should never go away” and that they don’t just benefit the artist. “[Royalties] are exciting from a collector’s point of view because if [I]the artist, [am] selling you a job and then I rush up and raise my value, then you’re [also] He’s going to benefit from it,” he said.

But royalties aren’t the only reason directors and producers turn to NFTs—they also offer a new way for filmmakers to connect with audiences. “It’s really valuable to connect with people who are interested in your work before you even shoot your movie. It is something miraculous. They can inform the creative process and help drive your vision,” Pacino explained.

A movie under construction on Web3

While the panel is over, Film3 fans still have the chance to see Navarrete and Silva share some of their work on December 2. The co-directors Navarrete and Alex Ulises will present a screening of their documentary. Latin idiosyncrasy along with “NEA,” the teaser for looking for america — “a fictional film under construction on Web3” for which Silva was an executive producer.

The film explores the history of the 16 communes of the Colombian city of Medellín, with the aim of representing the true realities of the area that are rarely reflected beyond the country’s borders. And the community is at the heart of the entire project.

“The social impact that we want to have, not only with Web3, but accompanied by Web3, is to provide some tools in the communes that we visit, where we find these actors who are going to participate in our film, where we can teach production workshops, performance and Web3 workshops where we teach how to use certain tools for this new technology,” Navarrete told Voice of America.

Beyond the venues, the filmmakers are also hoping to pave the way for other creatives in the Web3 space. “Our main motivation is to build the infrastructure that helps emerging filmmakers tell their stories. […] without having to go through the structures that are traditionally difficult,” said Navarrete.

And this is where the magic of the space lies, and what could (hopefully) lead to a new creative economy where these artists have exactly what the psychedelic artist of the ’60s fought for: the freedom to practice creativity without barriers.