Indeed, indie films are not about seeking large profits. The message inherently conveyed by the cinematography and acting is a function of the underlying budget. Therefore, the Indie film arena is often a great launching pad for aspiring male/female actors, directors, producers, writers, etc.
The country and often the citizenry of a nation play a role in how viewers engage and view movies as well as how movies are scripted and produced. Subtleties pervade into the Indie genre as well. China’s Indie film scene is very much about social spheres of influence to which film is an enabler of a move toward a more open and transparent society. Surprisingly, one ostensibly has greater freedom of expression with regard to Indie film creation in China than in the U.S.
“Let me start by making a provocative statement – in my three years of distributing and working with Chinese independent filmmakers, I’ve experienced greater creative freedom than in ten years of producing independent film in the United States.” – Karen Chien (Indie Film Producer)
Passion is arguably the underlying emotion that draws movie goers to the theater. Movies generally evoke emotion to which the big screen provides the mechanism to maximize the output of the movie inputs. For such reasons, consumers of entertainment continue to pay the $10 or so dollars to attend the movies in the U.S., and in China, are experiencing a rise in attendance to movie theaters.
The audience is important when considering funding of Indie movies in particular markets. If one does not understand what is selling, then funding of movies which are likely to fail will receive a higher underlying probability of failure. Movies that generate emotion are expected to generate revenue in China as the social medium is understood to be the medium of the Indie space. Such movies typically are funded with backing of the state, which supports domestic and foreign projects that do not promote or instigate social dissent regarding government regulation of social media and entertainment.
The funding sources are indeed different. The indie movie project must be independently reviewed and authorized to receive approval for development as well as funding. It is unwise to seek outside funding after receiving the state funding award and if accepting outside investment, such activity should be disclosed when submitting the project. Developing an indie movie in China ostensibly isn’t about the budget involved. The genre seeks to establish an independent voice that can unify the core of China to its periphery using art established and transmitted in the form of digital and electronic media.
Perhaps the best method for investors seeking to invest into China based indie films is to register an investment vehicle on mainland China and establish an indie film investment relationship with Chinese government officials. Understand that underlying the deal is not financial gain, but an opportunity to participate in shaping Chinese culture, for which there is a financial reward.
(C) Vidia Ramdeen, Ricochet Alternative Asset Management (2012)
Sources:
http://www.beijingfilmfest.org/
http://www.fandor.com/blog/what-indie-films-can-learn-from-china-and-five-tips-to-start-learning/
Why the acronym? Well, R.I.C.E. can just as easily have been E.R.I.C., or I.C.E.R. (for those whom play Words With Friends.. or Scrabble). Why R.I.C.E.? Well, I am Indian and my friends will tell you that my family was (and is) never without rice. So what’s the relevancy to film finance? As the overall wealth has shifted from consolidation within western assets to eastern development and investment, motion picture film financing has received financial support from a wide variety of investors within Russia, India, China, and Europe.
Past deals include Indian private equity firms financing Hollywood blockbuster movies and a 2010 slate with $50mm sought by a film financing firm for development and production of an initial release of motion pictures consisting of six underlying projects. A syndicate of financiers from Europe and Russia converged to meet on this opportunity. Whether the syndicate financed the film, for purposes of this posting, remain irrelevant. What matters, the financing firm pitched in Europe and Russia.
Perhaps of more importance with regard to R.I.C.E., are the expected revenue numbers generated by cinema viewers, notably within Russia, India, and China. Additionally, the streaming media revenue from various secondary distribution releases and primary streaming or disc playback formats is expected to be very profitable from these emerging economies where the population is approaching 1billion or over in aggregate.
Source:
http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=15771
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-01-10/news/28416683_1_film-financing-private-equity-film-business
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Film-Finance-Awards-Warsaw-Poland-3508198.S.102033757?qid=246da7ed-b7d1-438e-a59d-6fa02975d313&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-cmr&goback=.gmp_3508198
http://alchemy.secondmarket.com/offtheexchange/hollywood-2-0-film-finance-meets-crowdfunding/
Film funding is a relatively new approach to film financing that enables a wide array of investors to participate, ranging from private equity and venture capital firms to hedge & APO funds as well as bank loans. Film funders often have a broader revenue stream than other investors in the film financing industry. As such, these investors have access to the revenue stream from the distribution network and other monetization mechanisms which reduces the risk associated with funding the revenue stream of big box office films generated at the theater or Indie films with limited venue showings and limited secondary distribution markets.
Given the hit-or-miss financial success of U.S. and international films, film funding and not slate film financing has become a popular method to spread the risk among a syndicate of investors. Until recently, a widespread method of slate film financing included a single entity investing assets into a portfolio of movies. The investor block finances a percentage of the underlying slate portfolio, or in some cases, the entire portfolio. Investors that foot the bill for an entire portfolio do so for Indie films with a 3% growth (2010-11) and with a successful 28th edition Sundance Film Festival in 2012, as such the Indie venue appears appealing to the single alternative risk-averse investor. The typical RoR on Indie films range from 10% to 25%.
The alternative slate film financing approach is investing into a portfolio of, for example, mainstream box office films (U.S.). Many investors will invest into the portfolio and therefore own a percentage of the return. The expected modified rate of return increases as a function of the aggregate budget. For this reason, many investors like to be on-set to see how the underlying operations of the film are going. This is to determine whether the money is being squandered away, undermining the MIRR.
All will agree that overall film financing investment options have increased over the past decade. In general, given the ups and downs, the industry has been able to whether the rough economic tides and provide a reasonable risk-averse RoR and MIRR. Film Funding is yet another method of reducing the underlying risk and ensuring the underlying yield will be realized.
Source:
http://www.baselineintel.com/research-wrap?detail/C8/good_news_from_sundance_indie_films_still_sell
http://www.baselineintel.com/research-wrap?detail/C8/indie_box_office_beats_the_odds_with_3_gain_in_2011
http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=15771
http://www.allaboutindiefilmmaking.com/2009/05/what-rate-of-return-should-you-offer.html
http://gillengroupllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/April-27-2012-Conference-Flyer.pdf
Many Hedge Funds, including New York’s Elliott Associates, are seeing premium returns from investing in film and media. While historically, film financing has been met with skepticism from portfolio managers, private equity groups, high net worth investors, family offices, and pension funds, the returns that Elliott Associates is generating as well as Honeywell Pensions, which reportedly parked more than $600 million to finance a slate of Warner Brothers’ films is opening the door to a Chicago company’s structure for being the next in a wave of attracting both institutional and retail capital.
“As a non correlated asset class, films and film finance has outperformed every non correlated asset class in the world”, states Yuri Rutman, head of media finance and consulting firm Noci Pictures ( www.noci.com ). “If you look at the more than $6 billion dollars poured into motion picture finance deals in the last 3 years, the IRR across the spectrum for both studios and independents are resilient to global economic declines in other industries.”
The Company is looking to bring on board an experienced hedge fund, private equity, or alternative investment capital raiser to identify U.S. and international private equity partners in both institutional and retail sectors in closing a $300 million dollar structured media & entertainment fund that would not only finance 20-30 films, but have the infrastructure in place for U.S. Theatrical Distribution either with one of a few major film studios the company is in talks with, or, as a stand alone distributor similar to Lions Gate or Summit Entertainment.
“The reason Wall Street, Silicon Valley, the Middle East, Asia, or European investors are all secretly wanting to be in the film business is that there is an exponential growth in terms of distribution channels. With digital cinemas on the rise, digital print costs minimal, the evolution of same day theatrical and video on demand releases, as well as leveraging global social media and marketing for lower cost advertising and word of mouth branding, filmed entertainment will always have revenue streams. Even tech investors are starting to look at movies as technology in terms of their delivery methods as well as productions that utilize 3D or heavy CGI”, Rutman states.
MoviePartners.com brings together producers, entrepreneurs, film investors, and screenwriters to develop higher-quality, more influential, and more profitable film and commercial projects. Over the last 15 years it has been its goal to become the filmmaker’s information services hub. They are in the process of revitalizing themselves and, by extension, the filmmaking community at large.
MoviePartners was founded in 1996 and created an award-winning filmmaker’s entertainment services community. They now provide location scouting, film crew lists, talent directories, etc., to that community. Its aim is to solidify a resource pool for those in pre-production to final cut. The phrase “it’s not what you know but who you know” is being rewritten here.
MoviePartners is now spreading its influence in the commercial development arena with innovative, less expensive approaches to quality filmmaking. Through the cooperation of its supporters, vendors, and founding members alike, they are setting new industry standards for high-quality production and low production cost.
From the earliest days of the Internet, MoviePartners assembled the contacts, experiences, and resources necessary to help its members succeed. Today will be nothing short of relentless towards completion of your specific project needs, start to finish.
In 2008, they redesigned and rebuilt the entire technology infrastructure of MoviePartners to better accommodate filmmakers and investors alike. They now offer services for the 21st Century, making it even easier to access and use the information they provide. They have a comprehensive refresh plan for all of their sites in the upcoming months of 2008 that will expand their capabilities, and yours.
“innovative”…“dynamic”…“exciting”…“rewarding”
Defending Art from Compromise
MoviePartners.com is a privately held company subscribing to fair and ethical business practices. Our film investors always have the highest quality products to peruse. At no time will art be compromised for profit.
Some hedge fund managers watch Oscar ceremonies with great interest to see their funded films among the winners.
Several Oscar nominees, including hits such as “The Pursuit of Happyness”, “Blood Diamond” and “Borat,” were partially financed by hedge funds, loosely regulated pools of capital that are restricted to institutional investors and wealthy individuals.
Wall Street’s fascination with film financing has grown in recent years, with several private investment firms making agreements with major studios to co-finance slates of movies over a period of years.
With names like Relativity Media and Virtual Studios, these firms do not have the cachet or name recognition of the big studios. They certainly will not be sauntering up to the podium and thanking their agent should their films get an award. Even so, a win at the Oscars could be rewarding.
Relativity Media helped finance “Happyness,” whose lead actor, Will Smith, is up for Best Actor. An affiliate of Dune Capital Management, a hedge-fund firm once controlled by financier George Soros, kicked in money for “Borat,” the guerilla comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen that is a nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay. And Virtual Studios, which is backed by the hedge fund Stark Investments, has invested in “Blood Diamond,” which is up for five awards, as well as the disaster-film flop “Poseidon,” which garnered a nomination for best visual effects.
This list reflects the growing ties between Hollywood and hedge funds and private equity firms, which have invested billions in movies since 2005, Bloomberg News reported last month. Two investors in MGM, the movie studio, are the buyout firms Providence Equity Partners and Texas Pacific Group.
It can be a risky business. Legendary Pictures, another hedge fund vehicle, has caught flack for its investments in box-office bombs “Lady in the Water” and “The Ant Bully.”
Yet some of these companies seem to have found gold in the Hollywood Hills. “Borat” cost an estimated $18 million to produce. The tale of a fictional Kazakh reporter’s adventures in the United States has earned about $128 million in domestic box office.
Source- http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/hedge-funds-at-the-oscars/
Movies that Matter, an initiative of Amnesty International, wants to open people’s eyes to human rights through film.
Movies that Matter has a strong international focus, resulting in a growing number of international activities. It promotes human rights film screenings worldwide, offers advice and assistance and stimulates the exchange of knowledge and experience. It stresses the use of the power of film to promote the observance of human rights a social change.Apply for Funding
Movies that Matter offers modest monetary assistance to initiate human rights film festivals and to help circulate and exhibit human rights films in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Advise, Assistance & Echange
Do you want to organise a film festival or host a screening, but you don’t know where to start? Do you need more information on what films to choose for your project or how to clear the rights? If yes you can refer to Movies that Matter (www.moviesthatmatter.nl)
Source- http://www.moviesthatmatter.nl/mtm/site/internationaal.vm?gclid=CK3_7OGgnqcCFYEOfAodDz8udA
Green Light Film Funding take pride on honesty and their ability to structure unique funding solutions that are not available in the traditional lending arena. The Funding Options, like those of any other industry, have changed drastically within the last 12 months. However, with GLFF’s combined 34 years of experience they know how to structure these difficult deals in today’s always changing environment.
Whether your film has most or none of the funding required this fund can provide solutions that exist outside the traditional sources. Fund’s investors realize the potential of funding films and that your film may be the next “Juno”,”Garden State” or “Passion Of The Christ”.
At Green Light Film Funding they eat, sleep and drink film financing. Whether you are a film maker or potential investor we look forward to sharing your vision and working together with you and your team in the near future.
You can submit film projects for funding consideration. GLFF offers some incentives for film producers and various opportunities for investors to finance films
Source- http://www.greenlightfilmfunding.com/
The UK Film Council is the Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.
Who they are and what they do The UK Film Council was created in 2000 and is the Government-backed lead agency for film delivery in the UK; Since its creation the UK Film Council has been the cornerstone of the British film industry and the funder of most of the big cultural film initiatives – backed more than 900 films, shorts and features, entertained more than 200 million people and helped to generate approximately £700 million at the box-office worldwide. For every £1 of Lottery money it has invested, £5 has been generated at the box office, allowing them to reinvest that recoupment straight back into new British films; Tim Bevan, co-founder and co-chairman of Working Title Films, is its Chairman, Tim Cagney is Managing Director; The UK Film Council currently employs 73 people across film development and production, inward investment, certification, co-production, film exports, statistics, distribution and exhibition, MEDIA Desk UK, industry relations, film partnerships across the UK, etc; Film Council funds and works with a number of different partners across the UK – including the regional and national screen agencies, the BFI, Skillset, First Light and FILMCLUB; Their goal is to help make the UK a global centre for film in the digital age, with the world’s most imaginative, diverse and vibrant film culture, underpinned by a flourishing, competitive film industry; Its support develops new filmmakers, funds exciting new British films and gets a wider choice of films to audiences throughout the UK. Council also invests in training, promoting Britain as an international filmmaking location and raising the profile of British films abroad; The Lottery money they distribute is key to keeping the engine of British film creativity running.
Diversity is one of our key policy priorities. They aim to help the UK film industry build a more diverse workforce: behind and in front of the camera.
UK Film Council is nurturing film talent, assisting the industry and celebrating film culture. This Film Fund is a new unified production and development fund dedicated to British filmmaking. It facilitate UK film’s contribution to the UK economy
Source- http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Film Finances was founded in 1950 for the purpose of giving guarantees of completion to financiers of motion pictures. At the time, producers of motion pictures were finding it increasingly difficult to borrow money from banks because the producers could not show how budget overages, if any, could be met. The original founders of the company were film producers who had learned that mortgaging all they owned against potential budget overages was not a sound proposition. Film Finances was therefore formed to provide financiers with a service that gave them the assurance that the film would be delivered on time and that the over budget costs would not be the financier’s responsibility.
FFI has given completion guarantees to all the leading banks involved in the entertainment industry, as well as all the major studios and distributors of motion pictures. FFI has now guaranteed the completion and delivery of approximately 6,000 Feature Films, Television Series, Movies of the Week, Films on Tape, Documentaries and CD-ROM Productions shot in all parts of the world.
Production EvaluationAs soon as an inquiry is made for them to issue a guarantee, they request the script, the shooting schedule and the budget.They prefer that all three documents have already been approved by the financiers and distributors of the picture. Documents are carefully examined to be sure on feasibility. When a positive decision is made, a “letter of intent” is issued by them confirming that they are prepared to go forward with the giving of a Guarantee of Completion, subject to the fulfillment of certain stated conditions. Most conditions are considered standard and apply to such things as financing, personnel, insurance and location agreements. The letter of intent will also list a number of budget for which we are not responsible. These above-mentioned conditions are incorporated in an undertaking required of the producers. The letter of intent specifies FFI’s fee for the giving of such a Guarantee.
The Legal Stage
When a letter of intent is issued and the project is approved, they then commence work on the legal documentation. This is all done in-house. In preparing the documents, FFI requires the fulfillment of certain standard conditions, such as, the assurance of financing equal to the approved budget, available and capable personnel, and satisfactory insurance, studio and location arrangements have been made. In addition, they require the documents that entitle the production company the rights to make the film
Film Finances is entirely an independent completion bond company with no affiliation. Being truly independent they are able to advice without the risk of any potential conflict of interest. Consequently, it is able to act in order to protect the interests of our clients at all times.Monitoring Production
FFI needs to be satisfied at all times that the production whose completion we have guaranteed progresses satisfactorily and on schedule. However, it does appreciate that making motion pictures is a creative process employing fine talents. FFI enjoys having a very close relationship with our producers, directors and key production personnel, and they are convinced that these relationships are more valuable than placing someone between us. Their monitoring process requires the production to fax to us daily shooting progress reports and a weekly cost report in order to properly evaluate the progress of the film. FFI also makes periodic visits to the shooting area.
The process of completing a motion picture continues well after the end of the actual filming. It also has a very experienced post production staff that monitors the post production of a film via a schedule and updated cost reports until the film is actually delivered to the distributor.
Source- www.ffi-web.com/
FBT Film & Entertainment is owned by FBT Advisors, Inc., an affiliate of First Bank and Trust and a subsidiary of First Trust Corporation since 2001. As a bank affiliate it offers a complete choice of
banking relationship products. In addition it offers a range of broker services including investments, insurance, business advisory, and venture capital. The unique ability to integrate these services
for its film industry clients gives it an unmatched edge over any competitor.FBT Film started with the goal of increasing local community involvement with the film industry and the development of our industryhas been nothing short of remarkable. They are actively working to
further expand the local film industry while assisting the state of Louisiana in recruiting new film projects. It has also been instrumental in cultivating partnerships between out of state media
production companies and local firms to make the best use of available resources. They take special pride in seeing Louisiana businesses grow and prosper as a result. It works with the Louisiana Film Commissioner’s office, statewide local municipalities, film liaisons and the UNO Foundation’s Nims
Studio to fully utilize the production capacity and studio facilities. Its Los Angeles staff has extensive experience in the entertainment industry and fully understands the process of organizing, financing,
and working within the Louisiana production process. FBT Film also proudly supports A Child’s Wish of Louisiana, a local organization which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.Source- http://www.fbtfilm.com
As a new financiers to the movie industry, Hedge Funds are attracted by the potential returns on diverse portfolios of movies especially from DVD sales. Given, Hollywood has a bad reputation for parting star-struck investors from their cash hedge fund managers will need to stay sharp and structure their investments carefully. Helen Avery reports.
Film finance was often a high-risk/high-return investment proposition with a reputation for burning investors. Now, though, hedge fund managers are finding ways to mitigate risk and penetrate opaque film industry accounting practicesFrank Yablans is the Warren Buffett of Hollywood. Former president of Paramount Pictures and former chairman of MGM, the 71-year-old has more than 300 films, including blockbusters such as The Godfather, Serpico, Paper Moon and Murder on the Orient Express. Back in the early 1970s when Paramount made the original version of The Longest Yard, Yablans remembers, third-party financing came from tax-shelter deals. Now Yablans is running his own film production and distribution company, Promenade Pictures. With investment advisory firm Bluebay Capital, Promenade is seeking finance from the most recent investor base to hit Tinseltown – hedge funds.This sophisticated investor base has invested an estimated $4 billion into Hollywood in the past three years in investment vehicles that, like Yablans’s operation, and are attempting to create a high-returning asset class with speculative investment in the film industry.
In the past it has been a commonplace expectation that if you put money into Hollywood, you might not get it back, let alone a return on it. With an endless supply of investors keen for a brief spell in the sexy film industry, Hollywood can perhaps be forgiven for taking advantage of the naïve and star-struck. Returns were almost secondary
to them That’s not so for hedge fund managers. The possibility of making an annual 30% on investments (in the case of equity slate financing) is not the only appeal. Film financing offers uncorrelated returns. During economic downturns, people still go the cinema or rent movie DVDs. To mitigate and spread the risk and achieve high returns – is slate financing. Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have all arranged co-financing deals with studios investing in slates of films, raising money from hedge funds and private equity firms among other investors. Hedge funds themselves, such as Dune Capital and Stark Investments, have also created
co-financing vehicles (Dune Entertainment, and Virtual Studios).Spreading the risk
The importance of diversification is very important. Backed by hedge funds/private equity companies including ABRY Partners, Columbia Capital, and Falcon Investment Advisers, Legendary Pictures has invested $500 million in a slate of 25 Warner Brothers movies. The first two off the slate – Batman Begins and Superman Returns – have
proved successful; subsequent films – Lady in the Water and The Ant Bully – have been disappointing.That’s true enough, but hedge fund managers are still finding ways to deal with Hollywood studios’ strategies for cutting deals to their own advantage. Stark’s films are with star cast, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt; 300, with Gerard Butler; Blood Diamond, with Leonardo DiCaprio; and The Good
German, with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, though, investors have yet to see any returns.Production costs also rise as films stars get millions for acting. But investors should not be focused on the big budget blockbusters to make money. Sometimes Smaller-budget movies with greater audience appeal can offer good rates of return.
Intrepid Pictures similarly has a financing vehicle investing in lower-budget films, (under $25 million) aimed at 15- to 25-year-olds. The seven-bank syndication of the deal was arranged by JPMorgan, with hedge funds and other investors providing equity or mezzanine financing.
Independent film production companies can offer investors phenomenal returns on low-budget films. For example, The Blair Witch Project and Napoleon Dynamite were produced by independent companies, and in the
low-budget genre of documentaries, independents have also had success. The Oscar-winning March of the Penguins had out-grossed all five best picture nominees at the time of the 2006 Academy Awards. However, investors should exercise caution in the lower-budget area, says Yablans. Yablans’s vast experience in the business mitigates risk for investors in his production company, but he advises managers wanting to invest in films with independent makers to do their due diligence. “People may boast that they appeared in film credits, but they might not have had much to do with the film,” he says.The quest for transparency
The due diligence that the hedge fund managers are conducting in Hollywood is helpful for complete transparency. Death by a thousand cuts Mead Welles, president and CEO of hedge fund Octagon Asset Management, invests in film financing across various parts of the risk spectrum
but is also wary of slate deals because of the lack of transparency and advises to be prudent. One executive with a co-financing vehicle on Wall Street laments: m“Studios are just not transparent. It’s hard to see fine details but we try to control operations.
Recognizing this risk in co-financing Hollywood, Yablans and Bluebay have structured their fund to ensure investors complete transparency with a hedge fund-like structure and, therefore, the returns they are rightly due. De Lazlo says: “We’ve brought in Goldman Sachs to handle cash management, we have other service providers to track and handle all operations to ensure transparency and expected returns. The transparency is in interest of both Hollywood and hedge fund investors.Beyond the box office
Ultimately whether Hollywood can continue to rely on its new financing partner will depend on the performance of the new slate financing deals. DVD sales indeed can make very good profits.
It is argued that film quality has suffered as studios now have a vested interest in getting films out of the theatre and onto DVD as quickly as possible. Owning the copyright to the picture is therefore essential for any investors in film to make constant return.
Source- http://www.outofobscurity.com/downloads/Euromoney-Hedge_funds_and_film_finance-Oct06.pdf
If you want to benefit from the opportunity of taking your story idea to the big screen. Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) has opened its third call-for-proposals under its International Film Fund (IFF) and is looking to co-invest in globally marketable films involving at least one Singapore partner. What’s more, completed films could premiere globally at ScreenSingapore, the week-long international cinema event comprising a trade show, conferences, master classes, a film awards section as well as red carpet gala premieres. ScreenSingapore, hosted by MDA and organised by Singapore
Airshow & Events Pte Ltd (SAe), is a platform for Asian content to be marketed to the world and for international films to be released in Asia.Mr Kenneth Tan, Director of Film, Animation and Publishing, MDA, said: “The IFF complements our co-production strategy aimed at growing Singapore-made content targeting global audiences. It facilitates collaboration among international creative talents, and the participation of Singapore’s production and post-production facilities in international film productions. “Singapore currently has four official film co-production partner countries – namely Australia, Canada, China and New Zealand. We welcome filmmakers to work with us and our network of official co-production partnering countries through the IFF to realise their aspirations, and tell their stories to movie-goers around the world.”
Projects selected under the current round of IFF will be announced at the inaugural edition of ScreenSingapore from 5 to 12 June 2011.
About the International Film Fund (IFF)
The IFF was launched in 2009 to encourage Singapore production and postproduction companies to take on executive producer and/or co-producer roles in international film productions, ranging from
animation, live-action features and stereoscopic 3D content. The IFF will see MDA co-invest up to S$5 million for each selected project, together with investments from the participating Singapore companies and their international partners. The Singaporeans among its international cast include Asia Television Award Best Actor Adrian Pang and MediaCorp’s leading man Qi Yuwu. The film is targeted for release in 2012. The Harvest (working title), a stereoscopic 3D thriller-horror about the misadventures of a group of backpackers, will be produced by Singapore’s Blackmagic Design Films with Australia’s Goalpost Pictures.Source BNA Tax & Accounting Copyright 2011 PR Newswire Association LLC
Gale, Cengage Learning
Source- http://www.capitalequitypartners.com/film/press/Film-Finance.html
The Institute for International Film Financing (“IIFF”) is an innovative, independent social-impact organization dedicated to bridging the gap between the worlds of filmmaking and finance. IIFF’s one-of-a-kind mission is to prudently expand the scope and appeal of film financing in an economically sustainable manner, for the benefit of all stakeholders including the public at large.
Established in 2003 by former investment banker Thomas Trenker, IIFF is incorporated in California as a not-for-profit, public-benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. IIFF remedies stifling inefficiencies in film financing and cultivates success in independent film by instituting a trusted platform for research, education, networking and collaboration at the nexus of film and finance. IIFF represents the interests —and addresses the challenges— of film entrepreneurs and investors alike, and serves the public benefit by reinvigorating independent film.
Democratizing Film Financing
Obtaining proper financing is the single most pervasive, yet most persistently overlooked, barrier to success in independent film. Even seasoned financiers and producers are often at a loss when it comes to effectively and successfully financing film. IIFF aims to create economic sustainability in film financing by enabling both filmmakers and financiers to consistently benefit from their interactions.
IIFF brings film financing knowledge, skills and opportunities to a broad and diverse audience. This opens new financing channels for filmmakers, exposes investors to an expanded menu of choices, invigorates local filmmaking communities and grows regional economies in which they are embedded.
The Best of Two Worlds
IIFF fuses the best practices and most effective strategies from the worlds of filmmaking and finance into a novel, innovative approach that heralds a new era of film financing. For instance, Silicon Valley’s proven model of entrepreneurship and venture capital offers a powerful template for successful and effective cooperation between entrepreneurs and financiers; this model lends itself not only to the financing of technology ventures but also to the funding of independent film projects.
Serving the Public Benefit
Regional film economies have long been stagnating or worse, due to a lack of entrepreneurial financing. IIFF not only assists in arranging film financing but it empowers filmmakers to build successful careers and financiers to pursue prudent investment strategies in film with a realistic set of expectations. IIFF benefits the general public by promoting and fostering sustainable regional economic growth, cultural diversity, community, philanthropic giving, freedom of expression, and the wonderful and universally inspiring art of independent filmmaking.
Empowerment by Education
Education is IIFF’s “weapon of choice” in fighting the pervasive inefficiencies of film financing. IIFF regards its educational mission as a two-way street wherein finance and film professionals learn from each other and from experts in their respective fields. Topical education also acts as a door opener for newcomers and a foundation for innovation in film financing. No other means offers the same, powerful leverage as education. Since its founding, IIFF has helped hundreds of filmmakers and financiers better understand and navigate the process of independent film financing.
s
IIFF’s educational programs complement one another in bridging the gap that has traditionally kept filmmakers and financiers from achieving mutual success. IIFF supplements its educational offerings with networking events for filmmakers, financiers, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in film and finance. These gatherings include IIFF’s popular, monthly community meetings. True to IIFF’s motto of “democratizing film financing,” community meetings bring together a wide array of professionals from relevant backgrounds in film, finance and beyond for a vibrant evening of insightful presentations, inspiring discussion and focused networking.
Past IIFF events have reliably delivered useful insights into the business of film, purveyed quality education on film financing, provided valuable networking opportunities, fostered community ties between filmmakers and financiers, and managed to draw large and enthusiastic crowds.
Source- /www.filmfinancing.org
Prescience is a unique, integrated media company focusing on film production, financing and international sales.
Prescience aims to provide the most appropriate financing options to producers. These range from development funding and equity finance through to debt and P&A. Prescience has a specialist management team that spans media banking, corporate finance and the production, marketing, sales and distribution of quality commercial filmed entertainment.
Prescience owns Metropolis International Sales Ltd and managed funds including the Aegis Film Fund. Prescience also has close links with the National Film and Television School and provides student sponsorship each year.
How to Fund Your Film, the Film Finance Handbook, is the definitive source book for anyone looking to fund a film project – be it script, short, feature or documentary.
It puts in one place for the first time details of over 1,000 funds and tax schemes in some 50 countries, alongside exhaustive and easy to understand explanations of all aspects of indie film financing, from microbudget shorts and docs to multi-million international co-productions.
Over 40 experts from six continents have contributed to this exhaustive 480 page how-to and reference guide for filmmakers, producers, funders and advisers. The new edition features:
• All forms of film finance explained in-depth, including new methods like crowdsourcing and web based micro-finance.
• In depth international incentives (tax breaks and public money) covered for 50 countries (and dozens of states and regions), including the new UK, US federal and German tax incentives, written in collaboration with the legal experts in each country in language accessible for non lawyers.
• Details of 1000 funding awards from over 300 bodies.
• The internet as film studio; how to use the web for fund-raising, marketing and distribution.
• Cutting budgets, a guide to microbudget and digital techniques.
• Dozens of new case studies and interviews, including Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor), Jim Gilliam (Brave New Films) – who raised $300,000 via the web, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley, whose produced YouTube’s first feature stream, Roy Disney, Gus van Sant, Nik Powell (head of NFTS and legendary producer), Lance Weiler, Matt Hanosn and Paul Haggis (Crash).
“Film is a tyranny, and the tyrant is money. The great thing is that, in spite of that, impossibly, some people keep on smuggling out messages of hope from the other side, past the tyrant. I mean, there shouldn’t be one good movie made given the way it’s structured, and yet there are many good movies made. That seems to be implausible and marvelous at the same time”
Source- http://www.fundyourfilm.info/
Film financing is one of the most difficult and least understood challenges facing a producer and it is fraught with perils for the unwary. Many independent film producers find themselves caught in the problems. Given that most film producers do not want to use their personal assets to fund their films, the most important issue for many producers is how to finance their film project with other people’s money.
The methods of financing film projects are as diverse as the film projects themselves, the most common ways being; “debt” (such as borrowing money); “equity” (such as selling membership interests); or a combination of both (such as a production support agreement). If the producer has a track record of successful film production, then additional sources such as “pre-sale” of film distribution rights or studio financing are available. And there are producers who merely package a project and assign the rights to another, better financed, production company. However, for most independent producers film financing is limited to debt and equity.The problem with financing a project with debt is that such agreements require the payment of a sum-certain, with interest, on or before a specific date. There is repayment difficulties.
The other major source of funds, equity financing, is problematic because a securities offering memorandum and full disclosure is required under the securities laws and notice filings are required by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) Violations of the SEC requirements and the applicable Blue Sky Laws carry both criminal and civil penalties.
A business plan IS NOT a Private Placement Memorandum. A business plan and a securities offering memo serve very different functions. In order to safely comply with these laws, a producer should work with an attorney who is familiar with both entertainment and securities regulation.
The following is a summary of some of issues that arise when preparing a private placement investment offering under this exemption1. No General Solicitation. 2. Accredited investor requirements. 3. Disclosure requirements. 4. Filings.
As you might expect, an essential part of any request for financing is for the producer to develop a credible budget and production timeline. Without both of these documents, prepared by someone with experience in film production, the producer should not undertake any serious fundraising.
So, how do you solve the Producer’s Paradox? One possibility is to start with a short film and work up to a feature film project. A short is far less expensive, allows you to develop an understanding of the difficulties you will face with a feature film, allows you to develop relationships within the industry and it can become a calling-card for potential sources of funds.
Source- http://saperlaw.com/blog/2007/06/18/film-production-financing-and-investment-issues/ By Saper Law
Templeheart provide funding for film producers and is a film production company engaged in movie production and film investment. They work with film producers, film production companies and film makers to find the best projects that will give significant returns on any film investment.
Templeheart is also an independent research company and angel financier with a member community of high-net-worth individuals and angel investors who work together to help produce and finance feature films and West End musicals. They source, research and provide information to help match capital to impressive and dynamic film and theatre projects that attract industry renowned artists. Investments are possible in commercially viable film projects.
Source- http://www.filmproductioninvestments.com
In Guernsey a new film fund launched by a local investment manager that is believed to be the first investment fund established there to specifically invest in film production, marketing and distribution.
Confiance Fund Services Limited has worked closely with UK-based investment adviser High Fliers Film plc, and local law firm AO Hall as legal adviser, to launch Confiance Film Products PCC Limited, which will invest in both big budget and small budget movies.
“Financing films is always a delicate balance between the various parties involved in making the film and bringing it successfully to its target audience. You need to work with people who understand the film industry and have the relevant experience,” said Richard Garrod, Director of Confiance Fund Services Limited.
High Fliers plc has over 20 years’ experience in the film distribution market in the UK, and a catalogue of films starring Richard Gere, Forest Whitaker, Samuel L. Jackson, Carey Mulligan, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Carlyle, Claire Danes and Tommy Lee Jones.
Ian Hunt, Managing Director of Confiance Fund Services Limited, said High Fliers’ experience had been combined with Confiance’s expertise to create a completely unique investment fund at a time when the large film studios are struggling to find film financing.
“Confiance Film Products PCC Limited was developed to fit in with the needs of the film market. It also enables those investors looking for a different asset class with identifiable returns to invest into. The concept was to utilize the experience both at Confiance and in Guernsey in general to enable a broader business development approach to encompass distribution, production, branding and finance within the film arena,” Garrod said.
The first fund of Confiance aims to invest in a mix of films with different genres and budgets, preferably with an A-list director and an A-list lead actor or actress, to acquire the distribution rights to those films and then distribute those films through cinema, DVD, video-on-demand, TV and other auxiliary formats such as the internet and airline entertainment systems.
Source- http://www.tax-news.com/news/Guernsey_Welcomes_First_Film_Finance_Fund____45759.html
Providence Films and Hamershlag Entertainment Ventures a private Investment Banking firm jointly invested $50 million to produce its slate of feature film and television projects. Hamershlag Entertainment Ventures (HEV) provided funding through a secured credit facility and will assist with obtaining avenues for distribution of the projects.
The financing entity, HEV, is an investment banking firm whose central business holdings are in oil and hotels valued at over $300 million. The deal was completed between HEV Chief Executive Officer and majority holder, Mychal Jefferson III, and Providence Films attorney Igbo Obioha of Obioha and Associates.
Providence Films is chaired by director/producer Xavier “X” Mitchell. Mitchell says, “Hamershlag has been resourcefully gracious to us in arranging and providing our financing”. Providence wishes to produce thought-provoking original content with an innovative edge and mass appeal
Xavier “X” Mitchell is widely respected and extensively experienced in the entertainment industry for over 15 years developing, producing and directing music videos, commercials, film and television such as Laugh at LA.
Jefferson feels pleased to work with X.
The first film from the venture is “THE BELLE STARS FRIENDLY” Belle Stars Friendly tells the story about a group of prostitutes in urban Guatemala who came to organize a soccer team that went on to challenge one of the top private clubs in the country to what was billed as a ‘friendly’ contest.
Providence Films has produced projects such as, Fathers of the Sport, Harlem Tigerman, Laugh at LA and Next Up. New projects which will be announced in the near future and is currently accepting submissions.
Hamershlag Sulzberger and Borg Mergers provide is investment banking firm offering clients wide range of financial services.
Providence Films is a Los Angeles based entertainment studio whose industry offerings service the multi-billion dollar motion picture, television and music industries. Providence Films foci consist of motion picture production, television production, music video production, online production, home video acquisition and distribution, and the development of new entertainment opportunities in an innovative and targeted style.For information regarding Providence Film Group, LLC and film production visit
www.providencefilmgroup.com or email provfilmgroup yahoo.com
Source- http://www.prurgent.com/2010-04-07/pressrelease88105.htm
Film Investors Directory: Contact over 100 film investors instantly using our Film Investors Directory resource based in Excel. Click here to learn more about this $227 tool.
