Field Notes

On Producing, Cannes, & the Multi-Party Finance Hustle

Welcome to a Friday edition of Field Notes!

People always ask what’s going on in my world so I will share some updates here….

In my newsletter last week I mentioned the Indie Film Financing Model Coming For TV but with Cannes on the horizon, I can confidently say that indie film financing is coming for FILM too!

It’s kind of a joke amongst Producers these days that you shouldn’t even bother going to streamers with your project hoping they’ll fund it. For a while it was a nice antidote to the multi-party hustle of pre-sales, equity, debt, rinse and repeat. That multi-party approach is exhausting and relies on attaching the most marketable cast that you probably can’t get because everyone is competing for the same names.

But here we are again…. and for every project on my slate we’re back to the multi-party finance hustle. I’m in the throes on everything from waiting for cast, to waiting for sales agents to close pre-sales, to looking for that last bit of equity to button up a finance plan, and everything in between.

Let’s talk about that equity bit for a moment though….that elusive equity! So many producers I know are in the same boat with needing that ‘last 30% in equity’ after securing the rest of the finance plan in tax, gap, pre-sales, and soft money. So I guess it’s good to know you’re not alone if you find yourself in that boat too?

And here’s where Cannes comes into play…. can being there in-person help bridge that gap in your finance plan? Maybe? Probably? But who knows. I’ve witnessed some miracles happen before my eyes when being present in-person at markets, so I’m heavily weighing going again to Cannes and pounding pavement with everyone else. For some projects, it’s the last chance to close the final pieces of a finance plan if we want to shoot this year. Do or die … and I hate to push viable projects into next year when we’re only in May. Argh!

For other projects, going to Cannes could mean getting that initial all-important momentum going in the form of finding like minded partners whether that be sales agents or production companies. Everyone’s in one place and motivated by all the energy happening around them, to join forces and make things happen. It’s a great feeling (addicting even) I must admit. Nothing like the early stages of a project when you see only possibilities and the obstacles haven’t started coming for you yet. Ha!

I’ll also be taking a slate of FS Pro projects along and adding a few vetted lists of companies to our Resource Hub if you want to DIY Cannes and get in front of it even if you can’t attend in person. Trust me, there’s still ways to benefit from all the hoopla surrounding Cannes even if you can’t go (I was able to do that last year in spades).

In the mean time, I just closed a distribution deal for one of the films I EP’d last year, and another movie I Produced that was released earlier this month, is sitting at a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes…… what an awesome surprise it’s been for our team and I can unequivocally say that investing in PR definitely helped this small film gain visibility. It’s also opened my eyes to the fact that market favors ‘feel good’ films right now, which of course we couldn’t predict back when we made it but are benefitting from that trend now.

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What about you? How has your week been and what questions do you have? Feel free to pop them in the comments section below.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and speak to you again soon…

To your success,

Stacey

PS: Here’s the link again to the Cannes Submissions Service if you’d like some help with having a presence for your film there.

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