How Does Film Financing Programs Work?:
Debt Financing & Equity Financing
There are two major forms of film financing. Debt financing and equity financing. Below are the requirements of both. Once you secure financing we can then secure distribution for your project.
In order for you to submit a deal for debt financing you will need an executed distribution contract from a reputable distributor with a fixed license fee sufficient to cover the entirety of the budget plus financing charges.
If the contract falls short of that amount, you will need the difference pre-funded with equity.
The idea is that your lenders will lend against the future license fee so that the content can be produced, and once it’s delivered the distributor fees flow to them to repay the loan.
Also, if you’re shooting in a jurisdiction that has robust tax incentives, like Georgia, they can lend against the future value of that tax credit. However, they would require you to bring in a third-party tax credit monitoring service, which typically adds about $50k to your budgeted production cost.
Finally, depending on budget size, they may request a completion bond.
Equity Financing
Equity financing is the process of raising capital through the sale of shares. if you've gone through our finance trining program the process works as follows:
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Treatment & Logline
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US Copyright or WGA registered script
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Legal opinion letter on the copyrights for the script and the legal status of the ‘movie rights’
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Business Plan
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Production Budget
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LLC documents for the Movie’s Name and Script if set up under a Special Purpose Company (SPC)
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Confidential Investment Memorandum
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Distribution Plan
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Producer Agreements [if Necessary]
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Production Schedule
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Agreements in place with writers [If Necessary]
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Proof of Funds or Tax Credit Approval Letters [if any]
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Director and Actor attachment agreements or commitment letters