What does it take to produce & crowdfund a documentary and run a production house?

Divya Menon of G33kfilms (pronounced "geek"), a production house that makes documentaries speaks to us about entrepreneurship and how she is looking at crowdfunding for one of her latest projects.

Tell us a little about yourself 

I was born in Mumbai to a “metro-Mallu” family as I call us. My family was as connected to Mumbai as it was to Kochi. I am the only child in an otherwise large family. My father is a first generation entrepreneur who started his own manufacturing workshop, and also inspired me to become an entrepreneur.

I was in Degree College when due to financial difficulties I had to move base to Dubai to help the family. It was a difficult time, but it also taught me a lot and gave me the opportunity to become financially independent and get my family out of troubled times. I grew from a consultant to a business owner in the real estate sector before deciding to leave and come settle with my family in Kerala.

 How did the idea to start G33k Films come about?

Once back in Kerala, I started my own garments boutique with my mother in Trivandrum. But the entrepreneurial bug bit me again. A close friend introduced me to the field of new media content, in which I saw great opportunity. After working for about a year on smaller projects to learn the workflow I decided to start G33k films (read geek). The idea was to create interesting and new-age content in genres that are often ignored. We believe that the country today has an evolved audience and seek new genres of content. 

 What are the most challenging tasks as Head of Production?

I work with a close group of colleagues who are also my friends. As head of production, managing finance without compromising on quality of content is the core focus and challenge. The creative team, often needs things that won’t always be within budget, and since we are working with content that is offbeat, finance is always a challenge. Managing the money while maintaining quality and keeping your colleagues happy are the biggest challenges.

 One of your latest projects - Sons of Speed is a documentary on car racing. Can you tell us a little about that?

“Sons of Speed” is a very special project. It’s based on the lives of Freddie Hunt and Mathias Lauda, sons of Formula 1 legends James Hunt and Niki Lauda. I was called upon by a friend and neighbour who’s a regular with the racing circles to document and make a small video featuring these two amazing drivers. This was an exciting project but needed strong creative and planning, and that’s when I reached out to Navneet Prakash who’s currently directing the film. Navneet and I figured that the project has a lot of potential and decided to produce it into a feature length project.

This is a film that we are putting all our efforts and time in, we really believe in the film and its story. We hope to make this one of the better non-fiction films to be produced in the country.

Sons of Speed is up for crowd funding. What are your thoughts on “crowd funding in the world of commerce”? Can you tell us about a project or two that you successfully crowdfunded before?

Crowd-funding is a very unique opportunity for independent filmmakers. It helps us make a film the way it was meant to be without too many cooks spoiling the broth. We believe in the filmmaking eco-system, we accept that as much as we need creative ideas we need finance, and so financers are equally important. But if your audience can also be your financier, it’s a win-win for everyone. Crowd-funding is still in its early years in the country but we really believe in the platform. 

Navneet, the director of "Sons of Speed" has worked on a crowd-funding project called “Shweta’s Kranti” which helped an eligible girl study in a reputed university in the US.

What future plans do you have professionally for yourself and your venture?

Currently, we are hard at work on our film and another travel show. We are working on some really exciting projects we hope will raise the bar of content produced independently in the country. Our ultimate goal is to create content that gets noticed and appreciated the world over.

For more information on the project Sons of Speed and the ongoing crowdfunding campaign - Click here.