LOS ANGELES, July 3 -- The producers who keep independent film alive rarely make headlines. Their work happens in rooms where money meets vision: talking a European financier into the risk of a politically charged biopic, or persuading a director of Oliver Stone's stature that the conditions are right for another collaboration. When Moritz Borman died on July 2 at the age of 71, the industry lost one of the most effective practitioners of that invisible craft.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. His production company, C2 Motion Picture Group, confirmed his passing. He leaves behind partners Eric Kopeloff and Philip Schulz-Deyle, who described him to The Hollywood Reporter as "one of the most accomplished and respected inde...