A good producer will take the reins on your project, managing it from concept to completion and enabling you to do your best creative work (instead of wearing too many hats & stressing yourself out)

So I’m taking the guesswork out of this for you and handing over the 15 different methods I’ve tried and tested so you can jump straight to finding like-minded producers and getting them excited about your project

This post is for you if:

You’re a writer, director, or combo and you’re ready to put all your energy into creating your own successful films

But you’re not here to handle budgets, schedules, bring crew and all the other paperwork that has to get done during pre-production

You want to move away from trying to manage every detail, and instead be able to stay in your zone of genius by finding a great collaborator in the form of a producer

Nodding your head so far? Then you’re in the right place

15 Ways to Find Producers

1: Facebook

Join local filmmaking FB groups and either share a post introducing yourself, the type of films you create and what you’re looking for specifically. Example: “I’m looking to connect with short film producers based in London”

You can search through recent posts for producers and companies. Click on the little magnifying glass in the top right corner and search ‘producers’ to find recent posts, as well as other group members

2: Instagram

You can share the Facebook post as a post, reel or story. You can also use relevant hashtags to find and engage with producers, such as #britishfilmproducer #indiefilmproducer #shortfilmproducer

3: Film Schools

Look for specific producing courses (part-time and full-time), then email the course leader or administrator, ask if they’ll share your info with past and current students on the course

4: Direct Emails & Messages

Got someone you’d like to connect with? Adapt the Facebook post and make it specific to the person you’re contacting

5: IMDb

Search for producers, read through producer lists and find the producers of films you love & are influenced by. With IMDb Pro you can also find their contact info

6: ‘Producers to Watch’ Lists & Articles

The BFI, ScreenDaily and other industry publications usually share an annual list of up-and-coming producers. Find the ones producing films you’d like to make, and reach out to them

7: Freelancer Databases

Some groups like LIFT (Ladies in Film & TV) have collated the info of their members and created a spreadsheet database. You can scroll to find the producers, their interests, experience and their contact info

8: Film Festivals

Go to screenings of films you’re truly interested in, and ask around to see if the producer is attending. If not, you can reach out to them online after the festival and mention you watched their film

Read more: 6 steps to get producers asking for your script

9: Networking Groups

Some free networking groups are great, but I personally recommend paid networking groups (like Women in Film and TV) as their members are likely to be more serious, professional filmmakers as they’re investing in themselves with the group membership

10: Events (in-person and online)

The trick here is to go to the events that producers are going  to attend. Writing events are great, but won’t be filled with producers

11: Local Film Offices

Most counties and some cities will have their own film offices, which do a number of things (usually connect you with locations, hotels, local discounts and possibly funding). Reach out and ask if they’re able to put you in touch with any local producers

12: BFI Early Development Fund

The EDF is hugely competitive, and the producers selected are likely to be in the early stages of producing features. Read through the list and reach out to those you’re interested in connecting with

13: Reddit

A little bit of a mixed bag, because you never know what you’re going to get or who’s genuine, but you can share a tweaked version of your Facebook post to filmmaking subreddits, just make sure you specify country/location

14: Twitter

Hugely popular with filmmakers, you can use Twitter in the same way as Instagram. Share the Facebook post (adapted for Twitter) and search for producers using hashtags

15: LinkedIn

As with Twitter and Instagram, use it to share a tweaked version of your Facebook post, as well as keeping up with your connections

All of these methods work in 2-30 days to connect with producers, start conversations and decide if you should work together

Remember to pick the ways you most enjoy and master them. Don’t be tempted to try every method on this list, as it will probably backfire and you’ll end up repelling producers