Now Funding
David - Feature Film
$100 Minimum Investment
Overview
If you want to see biblical stories told with the same quality as Disney or Pixar, then DAVID is for you! The biblical story of David is one of the most loved in history. DAVID’s creators are bringing this story to the screen with the moving authenticity of Prince of Egypt paired with the modern animation and musical fun of Moana or Tangled.
Our vision is a movie that delights and entertains a wide global audience, while delivering a powerful spiritual impact and providing a glimpse of God’s heart.
“I have found in David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.” (Acts 13:22)
FUNDS TO DATE HAVE BEEN USED FOR:
Story development (draft 4 complete)
Storyboarding and animatics ( animatic up draft 3 complete)
Research and Development (5 team trips to Israel)
Character design
Environment design
Pipeline development, testing, and growth to support film of this scale
Animation tests
Commencement of modeling the world and characters
Music development (20 songs written in this phase)
Voice-over philosophy and strategy developed
Executive Music Producer attached
GOAL: Create the most influential biblical animated movie since DreamWorks’ Prince of Egypt. With a God-sized vision and a “slingshot strategy”, we believe that DAVID can become the most-watched animated film of all time.
PURPOSE: Share this moving biblical story with a global audience, especially those outside of the religious sphere.
APPEAL: Faith-filled content done right. Just look at the success stories of The Ten Commandments, The Passion of the Christ, and The Chosen!
ARTFORM: We want DAVID’s message to reach far and last for generations. Animation is arguably the best-performing movie and most enduring of all film genres.
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL (BEYOND THE BIG SCREEN): Animated films have unparalleled revenue potential in consumer products, music licensing, immersive experiences, and Broadway productions (The Lion King’s stage production remains Disney’s highest-grossing property of all time, with over $8 billion in ticket revenue to date!).
PREVIOUS WORK: DAVID comes from the creators of the Jungle Beat brand. The Jungle Beat series broadcasts in over 150 countries with a YouTube audience of nearly 200 million views per month. Jungle Beat: The Movie ranked in Netflix’s Top 10 Movies globally in 2020, reaching 3rd place in the US, with an 80% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.*
TALENT: DAVID’s team includes several of the most respected professionals in the film industry across the world, including senior contributors to the biggest films of the past two decades.
CROWDFUNDING: In 2021, DAVID successfully raised close to $5 million in crowdfunding, with the first $2.5 million invested in just 24 hours.
INSPIRATION
THE ULTIMATE UNDERDOG STORY
David is one of the most inspiring characters in human history. As a boy, he fought Goliath because no one else dared, and a few years later in life, his courage and faith inspired a generation of giant slayers. His greatest achievement was not defeating a giant, but inspiring a nation to BELIEVE! Warrior, poet, shepherd, and king, David’s life is one of incredible color and energy.
This project is about more than a shepherd boy who took on a giant. David's story is among the most compelling in history. It points to God and challenges the image of an austere, unapproachable, and distant deity. DAVID portrays the possibility of a living, breathing, and transformative relationship with God.
THE MUSIC OF DAVID
A gifted musician and songwriter, David wrote half of the Psalms! What better way to portray his life than through a musical?
Grammy Award-winning Jason Halbert is the project’s Executive Music Producer. For over 15 years, Jason has produced and directed for Kelly Clarkson, including The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Before teaming up with Kelly, Jason was highly successful in the Christian music industry. He started his career at 19 as a keyboardist for DC Talk before founding Sonicflood. He works alongside leading artists across the Christian and the secular music industry.
Jason is joined by songwriter Jonas Myrin, who won the Grammy Award for Best Christian Song with Matt Redman. Apart from his prolific writing in the Christian worship space, Jonas has written for mainstream artists including Celine Dion, Nicole Sherzinger, and Andrea Bocelli.
THE MOVIE
OUR GIANT
Completing a major global theatrical release can feel insurmountable, but we face this giant with confidence that we “can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).
Large Studios have historically dominated the cinema industry, and it’s very difficult for small studios to have successful releases in the theatrical space. However, we are right in the middle of one of the greatest disruptions the world has seen in terms of how films are distributed and consumed, and we feel there is an opportunity to achieve unprecedented distribution for an independent film, by firstly creating a movie of incredible quality, and secondly through a distribution strategy that is innovative and harnesses the incredible power of community. We believe that DAVID fills a hole in the industry; with drama, adventure, and courage to captivate beyond most faith-based films.
OUR VISION
We believe DAVID will become the most-viewed animated film of all time– an epic biblical story to delight the faith audience while also drawing a broader mainstream audience.
Achieving our crowdfunding target would make DAVID the largest crowdfunded entertainment project EVER. Our intention for DAVID is a global cinema release that builds on the extraordinary community we have built during crowdfunding, becomes a timeless favorite for the global faith community, and draws a major mainstream audience, who would not normally interact with biblical stories or messages.
In partnership with Angel Studios, and as an expression of faith, we set the goal of making DAVID the most-watched theatrically released animated film of all time. This is not a goal driven by ego, but rather by a stretch of vision. We know that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
* Please note, there is no guarantee of any return. The success of other projects does not guarantee the success of this project.
OUR DISTRIBUTORS - ANGEL STUDIOS
Angel Studios is a proven innovator in community-driven entertainment distribution, and we will add these principles to the best practices of a traditional cinema release. Angel Studios’ phenomenal series The Chosen, has demonstrated that when faith-based projects are done right, they can reach millions of people. In 2021 alone, The Chosen earned more than $63 million in revenue.*
Part of our strategy to make DAVID the most-watched animated movie of all time is to adapt Angel’s pay-it-forward principle to the cinema industry and invite ticket purchasers to pay for additional tickets, to be distributed within communities who may not be able to afford to go to the cinema. A person’s first-ever cinema experience is incredibly powerful and memorable, and we love the idea of DAVID being the unforgettable first cinema experience for millions of people worldwide!
*Again, please note, there is no guarantee of any return. The success of other projects does not guarantee the success of this project.
OUR DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
Slingshot USA’s distribution agreement with Angel Studios provides for a marketing budget of up to 50% of our production expenditure, which is a healthy budget for an independent film. However, when compared with the marketing spend of major studios like Disney or Dreamworks, the success of DAVID relies on a “slingshot” strategy, and Angel Studios’ proven ability to innovate is key.
Distribution of DAVID will build on five strategic “pebbles” to take on the giant of major studio domination of the film distribution industry:
Building a community. Angel Studios has built a “crowd” of investors and followers behind media projects, from funding through production. Once funding of DAVID is complete, roughly two years of production will continue before release. Together with Angel Studios, we will use this period to engage with and continue to build our DAVID community.
Engaging the Faith community. Our initial “crowd” behind DAVID will be a small subset of nearly 2.5 billion Christians worldwide, which represents a massive global audience of families who already know and love this biblical story. While we are making DAVID for a diverse, global audience, we recognize that the Faith community is very likely where our “snowball” will start. Making a movie that authentically honors the biblical text is a passion and priority for us, and we believe that the Faith community will be delighted by the quality, entertainment, and spiritual depth of DAVID.
Global Theatrical Release Strategy. With Angel Studios as our distributors, we plan an innovative US theatrical release leveraging the momentum generated in the “crowd” and Faith communities described above. Internationally, our strategy is for Angel to appoint and manage distributors for each regional/national territory to achieve the best global audience possible.
Pay-It-Forward Cinema. Angel Studios has pioneered a pay-it-forward model with The Chosen, which has been an absolute phenomenon. We love the heart behind this model – giving away world-class, Christian content and inviting the community to give as well. This generous model has proven disruptive and successful commercially. The Chosen generated $63 million in 2021.*
A Truly Special Film. In an age where media content abounds and attention is competitive, the first requirement of a distribution strategy is to rise above the noise. After that, our single biggest success factor will be the quality of DAVID. We embrace the challenge to create a film that you can’t stop talking about so that every person who watches becomes part of our marketing movement.
*Distributions of profits are determined by the managers of Slingshot USA, LLC in their sole discretion. And once again please note, there is no guarantee of any return. The success of other projects does not guarantee the success of this project.
OUR WORLD-CLASS, WORLDWIDE PRODUCTION TEAM
DAVID attracts a gifted and experienced team of artists, animators, filmmakers, and music professionals from across the world (at least 14 countries). Our crew includes senior contributors who have worked on some of the most iconic and successful movies of the last two decades, including Finding Nemo, Moana, Tangled, Big Hero 6, and Soul.
Phil Cunningham
Executive Producer/Director
Phil Cunningham is the founder of Sunrise Productions, the computer animation studio responsible for the development and creation of DAVID. Phil’s passion for storytelling was ignited and fueled as a young boy growing up in the wild frontier of Zimbabwe, where day-to-day life was often interspersed with larger-than-life characters and fantastic stories. Phil is a serial entrepreneur, a visionary, a storyteller, and most of all a man of Faith. The story of David has been the driving passion behind Phil’s journey into film, because of the incredible glimpses of God’s nature that are woven into David’s extraordinary story.
Over the last two decades, he has built Sunrise Animation Studios in Cape Town, South Africa. Sunrise has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, while also creating one of the most popular pre-school animation brands in Jungle Beat, which has been broadcast in over 150 countries and has a YouTube audience of 2 billion views per year, and 7 million subscribers. More recently Sunrise released Jungle Beat: The Movie on Netflix, where it featured in the Top 10 movies across all genres for three weeks.
Jacqui Cunningham
Executive Producer
Jacqui Cunningham co-founded Sunrise Animation Studios with her husband Phil, and she has a particular passion for mentoring people and building incredible teams in the filmmaking and story process. Jacqui has led the process in bringing some of the most highly regarded professionals in the international animation industry together for DAVID and has been at the heart of designing an extraordinary studio space and process. She brings a great deal of intuitive wisdom to compliment Phil’s entrepreneurial vision, and they have been an exceptional team in running a business, making movies, and raising their three children.
Brent Dawes
Director
Brent Dawes is the lead writer and director at Sunrise Productions in Cape Town. After studying Drama and spending a two-year stint as an advertising copywriter, Brent joined Sunrise way back in 2001 as lead animator on Africa’s first animated feature The Legend of the Sky Kingdom.
Brent has been the ever-present creative leader in the growth of Sunrise Animation Studios over the past two decades, and has created the Jungle Beat series, and directed Jungle Beat: The Movie, which was acquired by Netflix in 2021, where it ranked in the Top 10 movies across all genres for three weeks.
Brent has creatively led Sunrise towards being the fun, vibrant, and visionary studio that it is today. Brent is currently writing and directing a major feature – DAVID while leading Sunrise’s overall creative vision.
OTHER PROJECTS WE'VE DONE
DAVID’s team has collectively worked on the most successful animated features of the past two decades. Sunrise Animation Studios, DAVID’s studio partner based in Capetown, South Africa, houses a team of talented artists, storytellers, and animators from all over the world, brought together with a shared passion to inspire through story.
Sunrise founders Phil and Jacqui Cunningham started the studio with a vision to make an epic movie about the life of David and his extraordinary, life-changing relationship with God. Over the past two decades, the Sunrise team has prepared for this moment, building the pipeline to rival the quality of production and entertainment of the best major-studio movies. Then, never losing sight of the greater priority: a movie filled with God’s truth and presence.
In preparation for DAVID, Sunrise has worked with major global partners and built several successful properties, including the Jungle Beat YouTube channel which has over 8 million YouTube subscribers and close to 2 billion views a year on YouTube alone. Sunrise released a full-length feature film - Jungle Beat: The Movie on Netflix which had an audience score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and was on Netflix's top 10 worldwide for over 2 weeks.
Over the past two decades, Sunrise has created world-class content for major global brands including Samsung, Dell, and Juventus Football Club, every step of the way building a studio pipeline towards DAVID as a legacy feature project
HOW IT WORKS
Invest
Invest in DAVID now by purchasing Class A Preferred Units at $1.25 per unit.
Creation
We will use funds to produce DAVID the movie.
Returns
If we earn enough from distribution revenue, you would receive 120% of your investment before the founders take a profit distribution, and then we split profits by ownership.
FAQ
It takes a long time to create an animated film. We expect to release the movie in 2025.
Although we have a close business relationship with Angel Studios, we are actually separate companies.
Angel Funding, (VAS Portal, d.b.a. Angel Funding) is a crowdfunding portal that helps Issuers (companies) in the sale of securities. We primarily work with film producers, movie and television, that want to raise money to fund their projects.
Angel Studios works with many of the same Issuers to distribute their film projects once they have been produced. Angel Studios is the platform responsible for distributing shows like The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy, The Tuttle Twins, and more.
No. Although no law limits the minimum amount of money you can invest, transaction costs related to the purchase of the stock and ongoing maintenance make accepting investments less than $100 unreasonable.
You may invest as many times as you would like until you reach your investment limit under Regulation A
As part of Regulation A, we are required to file a minimum of semi-annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We will send out regular investor updated via email to let you know all the latest news of the company and new filings with the SEC.
The number of Preferred Units and Common Units are maintained by us and recorded in our transfer agent’s Company register. The Offered Units will be distributed electronically to investors via our transfer agent, Vertalo.
Every country has its own securities laws. We are offering this Regulation A round under the laws of the US and so we know what we need to do to allow US citizens to invest and be compliant with those laws. We don't have the resources to be able to identify and comply with the securities laws in other jurisdictions, so we limit investments to US citizens.
Slingshot USA, LLC is selling up to 30,000,000 Preferred Units in this Regulation A round for $1.25 per Unit.
Yes. As an owner of Preferred Units, you are entitled to your share of profits of DAVID enough to both create future episodes and make distributions of available funds as determined by the Managers of Slingshot USA, LLC in their sole discretion. Before making any distributions to the Common Unitholders, distributions will first be made to the Preferred Unit holders until they receive a cumulative return of one hundred twenty percent (120%)% of their initial capital contribution. Once the Preferred Unit holders have received a total of one hundred twenty percent (120%) of their initial capital contribution, further profits will be distributed in proportion to the Member's Membership Interest. "Unit" means a portion of the Company's Membership Interests, including any Common Units and Preferred Units. All Units represent an equal portion of Membership Interests. The amount of Membership Interest represented by a Unit shall be equal to a fraction, the numerator of which is one (1) and the denominator of which is the number of all issued and outstanding Units of the Company.
Shows and films generate income from movie distribution, which ultimately can be through streaming sites, theatrical ticket sales, DVD rentals and sales, fees from TV stations, and international distributors purchasing the rights. It is planned that DAVID will be distributed globally through Angel Studios' streaming service. Down the road, it will potentially be distributed on television through multiple channels, other streaming platforms, and DVDs as well as generating revenue through other ancillary products.
No. Investment in early-stage companies/shows is extremely risky, and you should consult with your independent financial advisor before making a decision on whether you want to invest. In any case, you should never invest more than you could afford to lose!
Unlike securities purchased on a stock market, such as the NYSE or Nasdaq, there is no public market for units in Slingshot USA, LLC. Therefore, it is highly unlikely you will be able to SELL your investment. However, you may receive distributions of cash from Slingshot USA, LLC if DAVID has earned enough profit both to create future episodes and make distributions of available funds as determined by the Managers of Slingshot USA, LLC in their sole discretion.
Our ability to offer our Units to the public is possible due to legislation known as the Jobs Act. This law limits the amount that investors can purchase based on your annual revenue and net worth. There is no limit, however, if you are an accredited investor. If you have additional questions regarding this limit, feel free to ask in our Q&A tool at the bottom of the main page of this offering.
Because you’re making an investment and not a donation. The escrow agent is subject to banking regulations when they hold your money, and ownership is tracked by social security number.
There is no subscription plan to buy securities recurringly.and all purchases of our securities are a one- time payment. Subscribers are simply other investors that have purchased the securities. A "subscription agreement" is a legal term for the contract between an investor (you) and the issuer (us);), it details the offering of securities and explains your rights and responsibilities when deciding to purchase our securities. Please note that signing a subscription agreement does not guarantee we will accept your investment. Our Broker-Dealer is required to review investor information, including KYC (Know Your Customer) data, AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and OFAC compliance background checks. These checks or other risk-mitigating procedures we have in place could prevent us from accepting a specific investor's investment. Purchases not accepted will be returned in full to the subscriber.
Yes, we are happy to accept ACH transactions.
Yes, you can now invest from one of these entities. Just select that option when moving through the checkout process.
Yes, but only for those investors investing greater than $50,000 due to the high processing fee of wires.
Offering
PERKS
Invest $100 or more
Regular Newsletter Updates
Get regular, periodic updates from the David team to your inbox.
Invest $250 or more
Streaming Credit Roll Mention
Your name listed in the credits of the streaming version of David. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $500 or more
Full Credit Roll Mention
You name listed in the Cinema version credit roll. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $1,000 or more
Quarterly Video Updates
Receive quarterly video updates from the directors and producers of David. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $2,000 or more
Director's Cut of Trailer
Receive exclusive digital access to the Director's Cut of David's trailer prior to the film's release and other bonus video content. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $5,000 or more
Signed Film Poster
Receive a signed copy of the David film poster. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $10,000 or more
Signed Script
Receive a signed copy of a shooting script. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $20,000 or more
Behind the Scenes Book
Receive a Behind-the-Scenes coffee-table book with art and research for David. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $50,000 or more
Limited Edition Canvas
Receive a limited edition canvas print from selected development art from David. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $100,000 or more
Associate Producer Credit
Receive an associate producer credit that will be included in listings on IMDB. Plus all previous perks.
Invest $300,000 or more
Executive Producer Credit
Receive an executive producer credit that will be included in listings on IMDB. Plus all previous perks (except the associate producer credit).
Invest $500,000 or more
Invitation to World Premiere
Receive an invitation to the World Premiere of David (you will have to cover the cost of travel and room and board). Plus all previous perks (except the associate producer credit).
$100 Minimum Investment