Financing / Crowdfunding

Frustrating! As a London-based, Italian producer I feel that our European colleagues have way more availability of funding on a local, national and European community level than us. Do you think we can point at Brexit as the main cause for this?

Do you think there needs to be a separate tax incentive system set up for indie filmmakers in the UK, Geoff Hall?

Alessio Bergamo Hi Alessio, no I don’t put this down to Brexit; this was a phenomenon before that. It’s a cultural thing, which I think is due to an over-reliance on government funding and I know I keep banging this drum, but HNW individuals need educating in film investment. This isn’t happening and it means that there’s a lack of diversity in the stories we tell. Just look at the dramas on ITV or the UK Indie films that are made and you see that there’s nothing new under the son, mainly because IMHO, with government funding comes the control of the cultural narrative.

Maurice Vaughan well, this is supposed to cover some of that, Maurice, but this model is flawed. There are lots of Producers out there in His Majesty’s Land that are looking for government funding for their projects, but it’s not enough to fire up the market. What we actually need is a cultural change in investment and then, yes, tax incentives for films that aren’t wanting to produce the next Barbie.

Geoff Hall I understand but filmmakers cannot rely on private financiers only, on the other hand.

on microbudget features, like my film "Sparrow's Call", we had a few HWI and we could make it happen, but it's not sustainable in the long run, for us and them.

in the EU, you can raise up to 50% with public funding and add on top of that a sweet tax credit (30-40%) in the case of Italy and, independent producers with reasonable sized but commercial projects, can make their movie.

the BFI has 7million pounds per year to finance an army of UK filmmakers at very strict conditions.

I think we need education on the government side, rather than private financiers, as the era of patronage has downed a long ago

Be sure to check out Stage 32 Education! There are a ton of great resources in there including for short films!

Tyler Bazan grants for short films in cash form are very hard to come by. The only ones I have ever gotten is from the regional arts council in my area. I’ve gotten two over the years, one for $750 and one for $2500 although that was for a microbudget feature. There are a couple newsletters floating around that also list grants quarterly.

Tyler Bazan could not find on my phone but back in studio I subscribe to this free newsletter https://www.filmdaily.tv/grants

Matt Helderman, the CEO of Bandit, shares a ton of useful and actionable information in this Stage 32 class he hosted: https://www.stage32.com/classes/Ultimate-Guide-to-Getting-Financing-For-...

I've found this list useful https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/film-grants/#short-film-grants

Congrats. This is wonderful news. As an equity financier we are always looking to partner with compatible financiers in the lending space. Would it be possible to hear about some of the terms and investment criteria ? I assume that could be interesting to others in the Stage32 community as well.

That's incredible, Amanda Toney. It says in the article, "Established and headquartered in Finland since 2015, IPR.VC has to date raised €150 million ($164M) from institutional investors, pension funds, family offices and the non-profit sector through three content funds" and "In total to date, IPR.VC has financed 35 productions." Does a fund management company like IPR.VC fully fund projects or do they team up with other investors to fund projects?

Amanda Toney I think Jeanette B. Milio's comment answered my question. "As an equity financier we are always looking to partner with compatible financiers in the lending space."

Congrats !

From their website:

https://ipr.vc/investments/

"Strategic partners are companies and teams having an established position in global film and TV entertainment industry and successful commercial track record.

IPR.VC offers the partners strategic capital – not one-off single-project financing. The financing provided by IPR.VC Funds helps the partners to reach their strategic goals, such as growth of their business. As the partners receive strategic value, they will enjoy their upside from the growth of their business. This also enables the Fund to target high returns of the investments. Working with strategic partners is an ongoing collaboration, which maintains the creative freedom and responsibility on the partner’s side."

This is actually something we have been looking into in places with a limited film tax credit. We're building a fund that would be a VC investment in innovative production companies / studios with a strategic plan because there are existing credits for VC investment where there aren't any for film.

thanks so much Sam I really appreciate the information

Great initiative and I hope that everything works out for you :)

Amanda Toney thank you so much for the encouragement and yes it’s beautiful and tranquil and lots of places to build a set and film. we want to film our project here as well but learning everyday something new and the classes actually are helping me to organize my thoughts better. I am trying to see which opportunities I will ex ok ore next so thank you again for the encouragement it really does help

Cyreita Drummond - I have a friend in TN who has worked with Horses most of her life.

Would this interest you in learning more of the Horse Industry ? Hope your Christmas/ holiday season is great. K. Kennard

Kerry Kennard my husband is a horse professional he has been in the horse industry a long time. I appreciate the contact as if they breed horses or just want to connect still welcome the information. I am the green one although I have knowledge as well .

Great line up @Ashley!

Thanks, Emily J!

Awesome lineup! Alan is a great resource and also has an upcoming Stage 32 webinar called A FILMMAKER'S GUIDE TO MUSIC IN MOVIES that everyone should check out - here's a link: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/The-Filmmaker-s-Guide-To-Music-In-Movies

I wrote this script based off of a time I was supposed to go to Africa to shoot but the movie got cancelled. Wouldn't this be great to be able to now get funding to shoot this story.

Exciting news! You're right, Amanda Toney. There are a lot of screenwriters from Africa on Stage 32, with unique African stories. This sounds like an incredible opportunity for them! Looking forward to seeing their stories on screen!

That would be great, Xochi Blymyer. I hope you do get the funding.

Maurice, I appreciate your positivity!!

Great news for African Filmmakers or storytellers but keep in.mind that Afreximbank is a bank , so.they.dont provide equity funding for films or tv projects , they will finance through debt which means they will compete with others lenders on the market with a focus on.African stories.

Wow - fascinating - these are such talented actors who have been in huge successes. I'd think they would rate higher. I imagine the global talent marketplace will continue to adjust post the SAG-AFTRA strike and with global production continuing to grow. Will definitely keep an eye on this. Thanks for the share, Amanda Toney!

Crazy, right Sam Sokolow? Pretty low estimates. Eager to see the market settle in 2024.

Yeah, pre-sales are tough and minimum guarantees have gone way down across the board.

Thanks for posting Amanda. Pre-sales financing has been in decline for awhile and this is solid confirmation. I've long felt that international distributors needed to step up and pay for films again if the independent film sector is to thrive. Only a handful of actors can command a pre-sale funding opportunity and at lower levels. Fortunately, a theatrical - streaming distribution strategy (and direct to streaming) is yielding a way forward for the industry.

Amanda Toney that would be awesome.

Dan Dillman Hi Dan. Yeah, the reason for my question was that people here were getting excited about this article, but it does state that they are looking for projects which are all ready packaged, not just newly-written material.

Geoff Hall sweet

Superb development and just splendid!

Does partially packaged count?☺️

Agreed - Emma's a powerhouse who's been on both sides of the table - producing and managing film funds and also managing private equity portfolios looking to invest. This is gonna be awesome!

This is truly not to be missed. Huge opportunity to gain inside knowledge, especially those within the indie film space.

This looks like a great opportunity to learn some valuable skills.

Couldn't agree more Amanda! Excited to have everyone attend :)

Thanks everyone. I Can't wait to share my knowledge and tips with you all, I'm excited for this webinar!