Case Study: Filmmaker.MBA builds an audience-backed membership to monetize indie film distribution with Memberful

How Filmmaker.MBA brought approachable indie film distribution to an audience near you

Filmmaker.MBA, founded by documentary filmmaker Christopher Rufo, turned ten years of hands-on indie film distribution experience into an educational business. Faced with hundreds of filmmakers asking “how” to successfully market and monetize films—and with little to no competition teaching distribution—Rufo needed a way to scale his unique, high-value knowledge beyond one-on-one consultations.

He launched a masterclass that evolved into an online course and audience-backed membership site, focusing on authority, quality, and exclusive insight that other courses didn’t offer. The approach let him package proven strategies (he’d previously earned more than $1.5M distributing Age of Champions) into a paid, scalable product that solved a real industry problem and built a willing, engaged audience.

Filmmaker.MBA

Christopher Rufo

Filmmaker.MBA