The fledgling operation offers a novel way for independent filmmakers to attract funding. They put information about their projects on Slated.com, where potential investors vetted by the site can identify ones they want to back. Budgets for films on the site range from $500,000-$10M. Slated can only work if the participants are credible. And the site’s backers say it took a big step toward solidifying its bone fides today by announcing alliances with more than two dozen established film funders. “We’ve been pitching this to them for several months,” says Slated CEO Duncan Cork. For now Slated provides the introductory service for free. But he says next year it plans to register with the SEC as a broker-dealer, which would enable Slated to collect a finder’s fee.

The list of U.S.-based investors includes The Black List; Bold Films; Caliber Media Co; Circle of Confusion; Company 3; Deluxe; Echo Lake Entertainment; Film Independent (FIND); International Documentary Association (IDA); Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP); IM Global; Preferred Content; Submarine Entertainment; Sundance Institute; Technicolor; Three Point Capital; Tribeca Film Institute; Untitled Entertainment; Voltage Pictures; and XYZ Films. Overseas participants include Backup Films (France); Bankside Films (UK); Dynamo (Colombia); Prescience (UK); Rezo Films (France); Salt (UK); Stargate Capital (UK); and WestEnd Films (UK).