Undertone Cannes – At Cannes, the business leaders behind “Undertone” broke down how a $500,000 audio-driven debut—developed from a detailed 250-page vision—landed at Fantasia, was acquired by A24, screened at Sundance, and went on to gross more than $20 million worldwide.
On a Cannes panel stage, “Undertone” didn’t come up as a cautionary tale about independent filmmaking. It arrived as something sharper: proof that a debut can be engineered, financed, and delivered with intention—even when the premise sounds like a risk.
The film’s rise is already well documented. Ian Tuason’s directorial debut was shot for a budget of just $500,000. It premiered at Fantasia, was acquired by A24, followed with a Sundance screening, and then moved into theaters in March, where it grossed over $20 million at the global box office.
At The American Pavilion. two of the business minds behind that momentum—Daril Fannin of KINO and Chad Archibald of Black Fawn Films—sat for a Future of Filmmaking panel presented by United for Business. The conversation was moderated by IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris-Bridson, and the focus wasn’t just the outcome. Fannin and Archibald traced the choices that made “Undertone” work.
Archibald said Tuason came to him with a 250-page word document laying out his detailed vision for an audio-driven horror movie. The approach pulled many scares from sound design, keeping much of the horror offscreen rather than leaning on spectacle.
That level of detail changed the question from “Can this be made?” to “Can audiences be sold on it?” Archibald argued it could—because the fear would be different.
“He really approached it with this idea that. if we lean into audio and make this an audio found footage movie. and learn into this idea that everyone is so afraid of. which is not showing much and not making it glamorous. ” Archibald said. “And by doing that, people freak themselves out. It gets in your head and creates a different kind of fear than people usually find in these films.”.
Fannin, meanwhile, described how financing was shaped by the same offscreen strategy that excited Archibald—and unsettled other investors. In his telling, peers saw the lack of onscreen action as a risk. With “Undertone” framed as a single-location horror built around one person on screen for pretty much the entire movie. and with Tuason as a first-time director. the pitch sounded like it could easily fail.
“As I was sharing it with other people in the industry. I heard multiple times that I should not invest in this film. It’s a single location horror with one person on screen for pretty much the entire movie. And it’s a first time director. It’s risk, risk, risk,” Fannin said. “But I think the creative was the ultimate de-riskment. and [Chad] did an incredible job of building a safe space for Ian to take these incredible swings.”.
What comes through the panel isn’t a single secret trick. It’s a chain of decisions: a detailed creative blueprint, a willingness to build fear out of audio rather than visuals, and backing that treated trust in the filmmaker and the material as the real insurance.
The complete panel is available to watch in the video above.
United for Business also came into view during the event, with the airline describing its shared purpose as “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” United says it offers the most diversified international route network among US airlines based on the number of international destinations served. The company also promotes a specialized entertainment-industry travel product through United for Business. citing reduced airfare. special rates for equipment. custom booking options. airport escort services. and a dedicated entertainment support desk. For more information about United. the organization points readers to www.united.com. and for United for Business. it directs them to learn more at the brand’s United for Business information page.
Undertone Ian Tuason Cannes Future of Filmmaking United for Business A24 Fantasia Sundance KINO Daril Fannin Black Fawn Films Chad Archibald audio found footage horror