Nouns DAO Backs NFT Crowdfunding Effort for Indie Film 'Calladita'

By Stephen Graves

The DAO behind the Nouns NFT collection has backed the crypto crowdfunding effort for indie film "Calladita," to the tune of 6.9 ETH ($21,000).

The deal—thought to be the first on-chain proposal by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to fund a feature film—makes Nouns DAO the second-largest backer of the film.

As part of the deal, a character in "Calladita" will wear the pixelated Nouns Glasses associated with Nouns DAO's NFTs, a Noun NFT will be displayed in the film, and Nouns DAO will be featured in the credits as an Associate Producer—another first in the film industry.

Written and directed by Miguel Faus, "Calladita" is aiming to be one of the first fiction feature films entirely backed by NFTs. Based on Faus' short film of the same name, "Calladita" tells the story of Ana, a young, Colombian domestic worker in a wealthy family's Spanish holiday home. It stars "The Newsroom" actress Emily Mortimer alongside two-time Goya award winner Antonio de la Torre, and Paula Grimaldo, reprising her role as Ana from the short film. Jim Cummings, writer-director of "Thunder Road" and "The Beta Test," serves as executive producer.

NFTs figure heavily in the narrative of the film; Mortimer's character is an art gallery owner with a large collection of NFTs, enabling Faus to offer backers the opportunity to have their own NFT artworks featured in the film, in a kind of product placement deal.

The crowdfunding rewards are also NFTs, including stills and videos from the original short film, as well as a 1-of-1 NFT consisting of a specially-shot short film featuring the character of Ana.

Faus told Decrypt that he expects filmmakers to embrace Web3 technology such as NFTs. "Everything in the film industry can be disrupted by this technology, and will be. The Netflix killer is going to be Web3 native."

Hollywood and Web3

Indeed, the film industry is increasingly looking to Web3 for inspiration. Producer Roman Coppola and members of Francis Ford Coppola's production company American Zoetrope have launched Decentralized Pictures, a film funding DAO that's secured backing from the likes of "Ocean's Eleven" director Steven Soderbergh.

NFT collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club, World of Women and CryptoPunks have secured Hollywood representation, with a Bored Ape cartoon set to launch soon. And filmmakers such as "Clerks" director Kevin Smith are even planning to distribute films as NFTs.

It's not the first high-profile crossover for Nouns DAO, either; in February, Budweiser showcased Nouns Glasses in its Super Bowl commercial after the beer brand acquired a Nouns NFT.

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