Some 296 people from 18 countries have invested over a million Swiss francs in the last few months, even though there is only one teaser of the film project entitled “Mad Heidi”.
Innovation made in Switzerland
The project’s investors are called “Mad Investors” and, for 500 francs, receive not only a share in the sales but also exclusive insights into the making of the film and, depending on the amount of the investment, many other privileges, such as a small role in the film.
The monetary part of the investment is also innovative. With smart contracts and blockchain technology, investments are securely registered and payouts are allocated to the right mad investor transparently and in real time. This eliminates time-consuming administrative work and investors can be sure that their participation will be billed correctly. The system was developed in collaboration with the London company FilmChain and shows how creative content can be financed in the future.
Almost as successful as Disney …
In order to establish the “Mad Heidi” brand, the makers started selling merchandise at an early stage. To date, an unbelievable 150,000 euros have been raised. That wouldn’t be anything special for a Disney production, but for a Swiss film project that makes a lot of noise.
Mad Heidi’s crowdfinancing is breaking all records in Switzerland and there are hardly a handful of projects internationally that have achieved this. The film will now be shot this fall and will be released in 2022.
… and as smart as Netflix
MAD HEIDI is published globally digitally on its own platform madheidi.com, without distribution and without lenders. This is trend-setting at a time when films are mainly consumed via the Internet. The creators are practically building their own Netflix, thereby multiplying the income for investors and reducing piracy.
In order for this to really work, a worldwide fan base is built up throughout the entire production period, which acts as a brain pool and marketing multiplier. In total, more than 40,000 people from 46 countries are already following the project. The fact that the film is shot in English underlines the global claim.
The film is produced by “Paradise War” producer Valentin Greutert and the crowdfunding pioneer Tero Kaukomaa (Iron Sky). Johannes Hartmann (“Halbschlaf”) acts as the director.
And what is the film about?
In a dystopian Switzerland that has come under the fascist rule of a cheese magnate, Heidi lives as a simple young woman in the mountains. Grandfather Alpöhi protects his granddaughter from the bad influences of the world as best he can, but soon her longing for personal freedom will spark a revolution. The naive girl becomes a wild fighter who kills the cheese fascists. Click here for the teaser: https://madheidi.com/
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