rian johnson's "brick", which won an award at sundance, was made for $450,000 on 35mm. then it was sold to distribution companies which made all of the below costs you're talking about.
if they're shooting it on 16mm with a small crew (union or not) and their actors are working indie sag, $250,000 doesn't sound unreasonable at all for a film looking for a festival run + talking to potential distributors.
if they're shooting it on 16mm with a small crew (union or not) and their actors are working indie sag, $250,000 doesn't sound unreasonable at all for a film looking for a festival run + talking to potential distributors.