For anyone investing money in independent filmmaking these days, the question is: how do you compete with the Avengers?

In a tent-dominated global film landscape, the need for risk-takers in the independent space has never been greater. “The risk to us if we miss the target is greater than ever,” says Glen Basner of FilmNation. “We are therefore spending more and more time maintaining, organizing and evaluating projects to decide which is a suitable cinema film for the current market.” The 25 players on THRThe annual list of the main financiers of independent cinema each has its own strategy for dealing with such high stakes. A few copy studios, supporting big-budget features – like Men in black: international Where The Joker – so that the majors are marketed and distributed throughout the world. Others act as conservatives, seeking to choose the next Green book Where The favourite. Many take a wallet strategy, roll the dice on a mid-budget feature list, and count on one big winner to cover the losses of others.

All are united in their desire to make the right film at the right price. As the global market tightens – and even the Chinese box office has been tough lately – a budget of just $ 5-10 million can be a questionable proposition. For projects that have what it takes to stand out from the crowd, it’s the people who can get those movies made.

Ashley Cullins, Mia Galuppo, Natalie Jarvey and Rebecca Keegan contributed to this report.