Summary
A New Exclusive Webinar!
Learn from an entertainment attorney with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission experience!
PLUS, receive practical resources to help you decide how best to seek investors.
You're ready to raise money for your film, and you’re excited about how to make it happen. But you’ve also heard something about the “federal securities laws.”
What are those laws, exactly? How do they impact your ability to reach investors? And why do you need to know about them?
When it comes to raising money, doing things right can help avoid serious problems down the line. Failure to comply with the securities laws can lead to government investigations, penalties, and in extreme cases, jail time. Moreover, your investors could automatically have the right to return their securities and get their money back. And of course, as one SEC official once put it, the securities laws are not merely a suggestion; they’re the law.
In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you’ll find out what you and other independent filmmakers need to know about the securities laws. You’ll learn the essential elements, including how equity investments fit into your overall finance structure and how to tailor securities offerings for your film project.
You’ll also receive practical resources to assist you in deciding your project's fundraising approach.
Knowing and following these laws creates benefits for your project. Doing things right may help instill confidence in prospective investors. Plus, handling your offering correctly can help prevent possible disputes with investors, so you can keep your focus on your film.
Taking you through this crucial process is Cathie Saadeh, a member of the Board of Directors of Women in Film & Video in D.C. and an entertainment attorney who provides business, production, and intellectual property legal advice to production companies, creative businesses, and independent filmmakers just like you.
Prior to opening her law firm, Saadeh P.C., Cathie served as the General Counsel of ACA Compliance Group, a global financial technology and consulting company, and worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
You’ll walk away with the investment offering process de-mystified, knowing the lingo and the lines you can’t cross, and armed with this essential knowledge so you can think creatively about how to raise money, how to protect yourself and your film, and feeling more confident when approaching investors.
What You'll Learn
Understanding the basics
- Hollywood meets Wall Street: Am I really offering a security?
- The lingo: issuers, equity, exemptions, general solicitations, accredited investors.
- Which exemption fits best? Pros and cons of the various exemptions:
- Section 4(a)(2)
- Reg D – Rules 504, 506(b), and 506(c)
- Equity crowdfunding – Reg CF
- Other exemptions: Reg A, intrastate exemptions, etc.
Nuts and bolts of an offering -- from a filmmaker’s perspective
- Forming and structuring the entity(ies)
- Qualifying the issuer and investors
- Preparing disclosures: risk factors, private placement memorandums, etc.
- Understanding the subscription agreement
- Closing the investment
- Understanding the required filings
Practical issues for filmmakers
- Structuring the offering
- Stock/LLC membership interests, or investment contracts?
- Deciding on classes of investors and priorities
- Should you set a raise threshold?
- Anticipating investor concerns: IP, dilution, key person risk, completion
- Fitting investments into the overall film finance plan
- Film finance waterfalls
- Defining net proceeds
- What about grants that recoup -- or even participate in net proceeds?
- Combining fiscal sponsorship and investments
- Being mindful of general solicitation restrictions
- Public appearances
- Pitch decks
- Prospective investor meetings
- Accepting overseas investors
- What to know about finders
Q&A with Cathie
Who Should Attend
All levels of directors (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to better understand laws and securities within the film industry.
All levels of writers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to better understand laws and securities within the film industry.
Producers looking to better understand laws and securities within the film industry.
Actors looking to better understand laws and securities within the film industry.
Executive
Cathie Saadeh is an entertainment attorney providing business, production, and intellectual property legal advice to production companies, independent filmmakers, and creative businesses through her law firm, Saadeh P.C., which she founded in 2018.
Prior to opening her entertainment law practice, Cathie served as General Counsel of ACA Compliance Group, a global financial technology and consulting company, for nearly nine years. She also worked as an attorney at two national law firms and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition to her legal career, Cathie worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., covering securities regulatory issues in the financial services industry.
Cathie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Film & Video, Washington D.C., and teaches a graduate class on entrepreneurship for media professionals at American University’s School of Communication. She is a frequent speaker on entertainment industry legal issues.
Cathie graduated from Harvard Law School and George Washington University. She is admitted to practice law in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York.