For the first time ever, a Kickstarter-funded film has won an Oscar. How’s that for the power of the Internet and crowdfunding? Inocente — the story of a 15-year old girl from California who refuses to give up her dream of being an artist — brought home a gold statue on Sunday night for Best Documentary (Short Subject). With the help of 294 backers, the film raised $52,527 on its Kickstarter page from June to July in 2012. “It really helped galvanize a community,” Inocente co-director Seth Fine told Mashable backstage at the Oscars. “It helped fund a bunch of the film and kept us going through post-production. It’s a great outlet for films especially for documentaries.” Hollywood is known for its high-budget films, but Inocente wasn’t the only Oscar-nominated film this year that was funded in part by the crowdfunding platform.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.