Many have suggested that the film industry is one of the next frontiers of Web3 and blockchain technology. Since films have historically been financed by wealthy investors or centralized production companies, blockchain offers a unique set of tools to decentralize the investment process. Filmmakers can release projects faster and people can participate in the financial outcome of a film in a way that was not historically possible, all with the benefit of blockchain transparency and efficiency.
The trend toward tokenization in all forms of entertainment is growing, and with it has come the seemingly increasing widespread acceptance of films with a crypto bent.
An example of this can be found in the movie. Confinementa Spanish documentary that recently had its international premiere on November 15 at the Doc NYC documentary film festival in New York City. Confinementdirected by Ana Ramón Rubio, describes itself as “the first tokenized film in history,” having increase 320,000 euros (approximately $370,000 at the time) in just 24 hours in September 2021.
According to producer Juanjo Moscardó, the process changed the rules of the game. “For my last movie, we spent four years raising the money to finance it,” he said during a Q&A about the film. “And as I say in the movie, this was just one day to raise money.”
“We think it is a very good option to finance with tokenization because there are some things that you can’t wait to film or start filming, but you have to have the money. And this is what we wanted to do: just Confinement. And we wanted to participate in the running of the bulls.”
The film’s sponsors received BULL tokens, described as a security token that represents “the debt issued by the film and grants certain rights to the film’s profits.” Holders are guaranteed a certain percentage of profits distributed through the blockchain along with other benefits such as prime ministerial invitations and producer credits. The lead investor was also given 60 seconds of airtime to say literally whatever he wanted, which was cut and replayed at various points throughout the film.
Related: Sundance Film Festival adopts blockchain and crypto film initiatives
The documentary began filming at the height of the bull market in late 2021. As explained in the film, Rubio was introduced to cryptocurrencies by a friend and soon became addicted to trading and the dizzying gains she witnessed. Her family was not very happy with her, they told her that it was a pyramid scheme and begged her to leave the business and go to therapy instead. But instead of giving up on it, she made a documentary about it.
Confinement is a first-person account of how the exponential gains that can be seen during a bull market can quickly become overwhelming. While the documentary breaks down the basics of blockchain and features interviews with several prominent Spanish-speaking crypto personalities, the emotional core of the film focuses on Rubio’s business obsession and how it affects her life.
It’s a pretty meta film and mainly follows the behind-the-scenes of the filmmaker’s journey and the creation of the documentary itself. For example, during an interview with Miguel Ángel González, host of the program bitcoin a day (“bitcoin Every Day”), the camera cuts to reveal Rubio passing her cell phone to someone on her production team so they can exchange it for her during the interview.
Behind the scenes of the filming of “Bull Run” with the great team that has worked to make this revolutionary project possible in the company of great guests #bullrunlapelicula #confinement bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#bitcoin #crypto #to the moon pic.twitter.com/harbWQb7bV
— Bull Run (@Bullrunlapeli) November 12, 2021
While Confinement Surprisingly funny and generally light-hearted, it also delves into the director’s personal life, exploring how her cryptocurrency trading affected her relationship with her husband and how this documentary rekindled her passion for filmmaking. Importantly, it also follows Rubio as everything falls apart in 2022. In fact, one of the most critical threads throughout the film is her journey from primarily looking at cryptocurrencies as a speculative asset to being forced to reevaluate its purpose during the bear market. finally learn how people around the world are using bitcoin and blockchain technology to improve their lives and improve legacy centralized systems.
The pace of change in the cryptosphere is rapid, as can be clearly seen in Confinement. So what does Rubio think about cryptocurrencies now, more than two years into his blockchain journey? “I’m mostly a bitcoin believer right now,” he told Cointelegraph. “There are other very interesting projects, but I don’t know what will happen with them. Of course, I don’t know what will happen with bitcoin, but I think it will be successful. And right now I am a starter.”
As for whether you think you’ll end up back down the rabbit hole of commerce:
“I don’t know if in 2025, when a new bull run begins, I will be a little more of a trader. Let’s see how this addiction is handled.”
Magazine: Cryptocurrency Trading Addiction: What to Look Out for and How to Treat It