Jump-Start Your Next Film Project

Access topics and insights from industry veterans you won’t find in a classroom to get your film made the right way.
Instructor Has Taught At

Fund Your Film

Learn how to secure equity financing, structure deals, connect with investors, and avoid critical pitfalls.
Indie Film Financing Class

Deep Dive On Film Music

Learn to navigate one of the most challenging parts of filmmaking from licensing to music supervisors.
Film Music Master Class
Our Mission

We provide filmmakers with accessible, ethically sound skills, insights, and resources to fund their projects the right way

LunacyU Testimonials

“I feel like he took me through every part of deals that no one talks about. Now I know how it works, I can see behind the curtain. For me that was the most important thing.”

– Kara Durrett, 2021 Independent Spirit Award Nominee, Producer: Save Yourselves! and Ayar

“I would give anything to go back and take this course before producing my first feature. I had to learn all of this stuff the hard way, by screwing up a thousand times! To have all of this information just handed to you is nothing short of a miracle.”

– Ben Matheny, 2021 Sundance NEXT Award, Producer: Ma Belle, My Beauty

“Here’s the truth I’ve found: every independent filmmaker also needs to learn how to be a good businessman.Taking Stu’s class was absolutely an essential part of me getting my first film going. This class helped prepare me to speak about financing and budgeting in a way that is becoming increasingly necessary for budding filmmakers.”

– Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Director: The Stanford Prison Experiment and Homecoming Season 2

“I feel very confident when I speak to financiers – that’s the greatest benefit of this class.”

– Kenneth Renaldo Reynolds, Producer, Lost Bayou

“Astoundingly comprehensive and invaluable. I can’t imagine a better soup-to-nuts crash course in understanding the independent film space and how to get a film off the ground and into the world.”

– Jolene Pinder, Independent Producer and Arts Administrator (Former Executive Director Kartemquin Films)

“Informative, entertaining and filled with an enormous amount of important industry tips.”

– Torrie Rosenzweig, Director of Media Talent Development, USC School of Cinematic Arts

“Honest, upfront and beneficial to all who attended.”

– Maria Bozzi, Senior Director of Education & International Initiatives, Film Independent, Los Angeles

“You covered what attendees wanted to know: raising money and creating business plans, but you also covered something lacking in many these days: etiquette and relationships.”

– Amanda Melby, Former Executive Director of IFP/PHX, Producer: Raising Buchanan

“If there is a single word that sums up your presentation, it is ‘integrity.’ Too many panels and seminars on indie filmmaking overlook this notion, while you can’t stress it enough.”

– Brandon Jones, Board of Directors, Dallas Producers Association

Why LunacyU?

Practical, relevant guidance for the 2020s
Direct access to filmmaking experts
Insights you can apply immediately
Valuable advice for experts and beginners

Quality content refined over 10+ years

Instructor and Filmmaker

Stu Pollard

Stu Pollard has 20+ years of experience in the indie film space and has raised millions of dollars in private equity to fund projects over the course of his career.

His company, Lunacy Productions, has enabled him to empower new storytellers and explore new ventures outside the film space, including education via the new platform LunacyU

Lunacy’s thriller, Rust Creek (directed by Jen McGowan) was acquired by IFC Films and Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes. It topped the viewership charts on Netflix in the weeks after its release in December of 2020.

Other recent producing credits include the rom-com Plus One (written and directed by Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, produced in partnership with Studio 71 and Red Hour Films) and Alexandra Shiva’s Syrian refugee documentary This Is Home (2018 Sundance World Doc Audience Award Winner).