It's staggering how many young people get their advice from TikTok, a platform overrun by online influencers without any real credibility or education. And when it comes to money, that can have a profound effect on their futures. Every one of us is susceptible to the human instincts of fear, greed, or promise of the American Dream. Cue 2020-2021: when Meme stocks, cryptocurrency, and a booming economy led to a euphoria of investing for millions of first-timers. Together, many had daydreamed of getting rich, and believed they were changing the financial system for the better. But neither was happening. They weren't actually investing—people gambled away their life savings, their financial safety net, their entire bank account. They just hadn’t learned the difference between the two yet.

Many were and still are woefully unprepared for how to manage their dollars in this fast and unpredictable modern economy. Armed with this knowledge, award-winning documentarians Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci spent the last few years documenting this experience with an aim to help millions of adults and young people learn how to be smarter investors, to better understand their psychological relationship to money, avoid scams, identify the difference between sponsored content and educational content, and lastly, recognize that social media algorithms are going to be biased toward stories of success, not loss.

Culminating this experience, Chris and Zach released their latest film, This Is Not Financial Advice, at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023 to sold-out crowds. Inspired by the cryptocurrency craze of 2020, this film explores the millions of people whose FOMO inspired first-time investments in crypto and meme stocks. People finally had access to invest, and they all turned to the internet for financial advice.

“A thought-provoking masterpiece. The best documentary at Tribeca.”
Taylor Lorenz (The Washington Post)

“This is Not Financial Advice is truly a wild ride. It takes the audience on the emotional rollercoaster that is money today and lands on some twists you don't see coming. Surprising and insightful. Could not recommend more.”

-Emily Stewart, Vox

“This film will melt your brain.”
The Fat Jewish

“A balanced, diverse perspective into the world of retail trading, sprinkled with insightful commentary from financial analysts.”
Hiranmayi Srinivasan (Investopedia)

“A testament to the populism coming for capitalism. It is no longer for the elite, the world of finance democratized for all those who want to give it their best shot.”
Stephanie Archer (Film Inquiry)

“A period piece for this extraordinary era in money.”
Next Gen

“Wildly Entertaining”
This Week in Money

FEATURED TALKS:

Chris and Zach are bringing this experience to an event near you. Based on the themes of the film, they have created two featured talks for both youth and adult audiences, customizable to the individual understandings of financial systems and the ways in which we are affected by money. Partnering with organizations working directly with young people, Chris and Zach are also advancing the conversation on financial security and wealth with a youth-friendly version of this film available for screenings and an accompanying keynote or fireside chat.

THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE

Inspiring and practical for all audiences, including young adults and students

Money is vitally important to our day to day lives, yet only 22% of high school graduates have ever taken a personal finance class. And 79% of young people are turning to TikTok and YouTube as their primary source of information. These statistics become even scarier in today’s financial markets that seem to defy logic—whether that’s Meme Stocks, cryptocurrencies or Elon Musk. Chris & Zach have interviewed hundreds of investors from all walks of life, including some of the world's leading financial experts. They’ve packaged their learnings into a powerful keynote presentation that incorporates evocative and cinematic stories from the film. This talk will be the most entertaining conversation about money that you’ve ever seen, providing a breath of fresh air. Everyone is guaranteed to walk away with practical tools for their own personal relationship with money and a deeper understanding of the systemic and cultural factors driving behavior in today’s financial markets.

THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE: WHEN TECHNOLOGY & MONEY COLLIDE

For finance & business professionals

Today, financial markets seem to defy logic. They’ve been supercharged by the internet and social media—with references to meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and Elon Musk dominating headlines. Chris & Zach can help make sense of this new landscape for any audience. They’ve interviewed hundreds of investors from all walks of life, including some of the world's leading financial experts. They’ve packaged their learnings into a powerful presentation or fireside chat that incorporates evocative and cinematic stories from their film. Taylor Lorenz of The Washington Post has called it “a blend of empathetic storytelling, fascinating characters, and financial concepts in a thought-provoking masterpiece.” If you want to better understand how technology is changing financial markets, the systemic drivers of speculative behavior in cryptocurrency, and where it goes from here, this entertaining and engaging talk is a must have.

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Chris Temple

About the Speakers:

Chris and Zach are film directors and the founders of Optimist, a production studio in Los Angeles. They are best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, Five Years North, and This Is Not Financial Advice. Their films have been released by Netflix, HBO, Hulu, National Geographic, and The Atlantic, and have screened at major film festivals including Tribeca, DOC NYC, Full Frame, AFI Docs, CPH:DOX, Mountainfilm, and many others. In 2022, they were both honored by HBO as 40 under 40 filmmakers to watch. They were finalists for the 2021 duPont-Columbia Awards for Outstanding Journalism and have won 4 Shorty Awards, 2 ADDY Awards, 1 Webby Award, and 2 AVA Digital Awards. Most importantly, their impact work at Optimist has helped to raise $92 million for non-profits working on financial empowerment, food access, and refugee education efforts.

Learn more about chris and zach

Zach Ingrasci

Outspoken Agency is a women-owned speaking agency representing leaders, founders, public intellectuals, authors and entertainers for paid keynotes, workshops and panels at in-person and virtual events. Learn more about our female founders here.

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