Blair Witch, ‘The Host’ Filmmakers Launch $25,000 Web3 Horror Film Prize

Web3 film funding platform Decentralized Pictures (DCP) is teaming up with horror filmmakers “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Host” to launch a fundraising opportunity for horror short filmmakers to hold two separate grants of up to $25,000.

Decentralized Pictures announced the award alongside ‘The Blair Witch Project' co-director Eduardo Sanchez and ‘The Host' writer-producer Jed Shepherd.

In the year Founded in 2021, Decentralized Pictures is a project that combines blockchain technology and decentralized decision making. Dao Administrative structures for film funding.

The platform allows community members to vote on which films they want to make using the project's FILMCredits credit token hosted on the T4L3NT Net. These-based blockchain created specifically for innovations.

Wes Cravens can finance a horror film by submitting a script of up to 20 pages with concept art and an optional intro voice-over video. Filmmakers have until February 28, 2025 to submit their goals.

The DCP community votes on which projects are considered by a panel of filmmaker advisors. They include Sanchez, shepherd and DCP founder Roman Coppola, who co-wrote Wes Anderson's “Asteroid City” and “The French Delivery” (and most notably served as second-episode director on his father Francis Ford Coppola's “Bram.” Stoker's Dracula, the film's retro special effects in control).

The winners will receive guidance throughout the production process from Sánchez, Shepherd and Coppola, who can use the completed short film as a proof of concept for a feature in collaboration with horror production companies.

What are decentralized images?

DCP was co-founded by Roman Coppola and the executives of America's Zoetrope, an independent film company started by “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola.

Unlike community funding platforms such as Crowdfunding, Decentralized Drawings does not ask community members for funds directly. Instead, the platform pays users by giving ratings, comments and feedback to people who participate in the community with the crypto token FILMCredits.

FILMCredits can be spent in the platform to submit projects for awards, or to vote on projects under consideration.

DCP co-founder Mike Musante told Decrypt in 2021 that he hopes the crypto-powered platform will help independent filmmakers navigate an environment where funding for new projects with little industry ties is difficult.

“Most places don't take unsolicited submissions, so getting people to read your project, even if it's great, is very difficult—again, if you don't know people or have specific insider information,” he explains.

In the year In an interview with Decrypt in 2023, DCP founder Roman Coppola argued that “a new Tarantino or a new Kubrick” could emerge from the Web3 filmmaking world, adding, “We want to bring filmmaking tools, contacts and support to people who want their voices heard.”

Previous achievements

DCP has already helped several films collect huge amount of money with the help of famous industry names.

“Holy Smokes,” a Latin-themed comedy short by “Clerks” and “Dogma” director Kevin Smith, was the winner of the $40,000 Comedy Screenplay Award.

“Ocean's Eleven” director Steven Soderbergh sponsored a $300,000 film fund on the platform, which has so far funded two $100,000 films, the crypto vigilante thriller “Cold Wallet” and the NFT-funded social satire “Calladita” (aka “The Quiet Girl”).