Built by filmmakers.
Indie Planet wasn't built by tech founders chasing a vertical. It was built by working filmmakers who lived the financing problem first-hand — and decided to fix it.
Stephen Wallis
Stephen has rapidly become one of Canada's most respected writer/directors. A multi-time award winner, he's becoming one of the country's most sought-after artists. From his modest Canadian upbringing he's been able to work as both director and writer on most of his projects to date.
His film Defining Moments was Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds' last film. His most recent film The Martini Shot was the winningest film in the world in 2024 — taking home an astounding 35 Best Picture Awards on the festival circuit, 25 Best Director Awards, and 10 Best Screenplay Awards across his career.
Currently his film The Splendid Thing — which he wrote with Matthew Modine — is shooting in Italy this summer with Liam Neeson, Matthew Modine, John Cleese, Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave and Ben Stiller. Other films, including Cut the Painter (written by John Cleese and Stephen) and the Oscar contender A Voice at the End of the World, shoot later in the year.
Indie Planet is his hope for the future of independent cinema.
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Kenneth Dixon
Ambassador Dr. Kenneth Dixon serves as a U.N. Nations United Ambassador-At-Large to the USA, UK and EU, and as Special Envoy to Zambia. He is also a WJ Mudolo Foundation Goodwill Ambassador and a Guest of the UK Parliament, advocating for senior citizens, African youth training, and global humanitarian initiatives.
A recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award (2024–2025), Dr. Dixon has dedicated more than 20 years to uplifting disadvantaged communities through advocacy in education, healthcare access, and infrastructure. He believes education is the key to lifting people out of poverty.
At Indie Planet, Ambassador Dixon empowers independent filmmakers to share their stories on global platforms — connecting the platform's mission to a worldwide network of partners and advocates.
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
Tyler James Ferguson
A decade in financing and family-office relationships across North America, the UAE, and Europe. Producer.
Tyler operates at the intersection of capital, structure, and execution. His background spans a decade in financing, with deep relationships into family offices and private capital pools across three continents. His professional experience includes senior origination roles at financing firms with mandates spanning private credit, structured product, and cross-border transactions. He is also an active producer in the entertainment industry, where he applies the same discipline of capital structuring to film and content financing.
Inside Indie Planet, Tyler is responsible for capital structuring and the operating mechanics that connect deals to capital. He brings the discipline of someone who has closed at scale, applying that rigor to every transaction the platform structures.
Andrew Lawson
Andrew is a private investor and consultant who actively manages a real estate portfolio in the millions of dollars. His experience spans real estate investment, asset management, and the kind of operating discipline that comes from running businesses through their full lifecycles. He is a results-driven leader with cross-sector exposure across infrastructure, capital markets, and private investment.
As co-founder of Indie Planet, Andrew oversees the platform's financial operations and capital allocation discipline. His real estate operating background is a structural asset to the platform's largest deal category, and his hands-on portfolio management experience gives the council direct insight into how capital performs at the asset level.
His network expands the geographic surface area of the council with depth in one of the most important markets for cross-border real estate capital.
Additional founding team members will be announced soon.
Indie Planet is being built by a small team of filmmakers, financiers and operators. We'll introduce them here as their roles are formalised.