When the public bankroll films

What would you pay for a meal cooked by a film director or to have an associate producer credit at the end of a film? If you balk at a $2,000 price tag, then high-end crowdfunding might not be for you. But for ordinary folks stumping up cash to make films showing at the Locarno Film Festival, these are some of the perks. Adam Sekuler is no stranger to crowdsourced cash. He’s in Locarno to promote Pow Wow, an absorbing portrait of the Coachella Valley desert and the people who live in it. Around three-quarters of the film’s budget was crowdfunded, including his wages as editor. This was Sekuler's fifth creative project using cash from mainly friends and family, and he in turn is a regular contributor to other people’s ventures. His enthusiasm is contagious.   “People are supporting you for pursuing your passion. There are few spaces in this world where that happens.” It’s so common in the United States, he no longer feels he is putting his friends out when he hits ...