This is an excellent article researched and written by Anousha Sakoui at the LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-07-09/ind...
It is showing how the pandemic has effected the overall film finance industry and the challenges the banking industry has come across. She even touches on the legal side and how production insurance has become a challenge and discusses a new completion bond product.
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This is a fantastic analysis of the state of the industry right now. At one point an independent producer I work with also noted that his production budgets were increased anywhere from 10-15% as a result of Covid protocols. In independent filmmaker where every dollar needs to end up on screen that can be a real hindrance to production financing.
To combat the risk of illness or outbreak on set he has also purposely looked for contained projects with small casts and crew that can be shot in remote locations. The entire crews have been isolated during production. The strategy has been working and over the course of the 3 films he has made I the last 18 months there have been zero positive Covid tests.
Like any aspect of filmmaking, the best will turn this challenge into an opportunity.
Great find, thank you for sharing! You don't think of the risks involved for indie producers until you realize how much they rely on banks:
“The pandemic had a real immediate and profound effect on the independent business, which relies heavily on commercial banks and lenders for their production financing,” said Milstein, chief executive of Media Guarantors. “There’s been tremendous market dislocation.” I definitely think we need to unpack this new completion bond thing.
I also think this is a great reminder to go see a few indie films this summer! O.O Let's keep each other employed, yeah? LOL
Hopefully insurers will see the results of the hard work of filmmakers to mitigate their risk and resume providing insurance to responsible producers. Without the Completion Bond financing has been severely curtailed for mid-level financing. As Netflix leads the charge on vaccination requirement the industry will certainly follow which will see us out of this conundrum. Looking forward to seeing the upcoming bond cover offering. Thanks Amanda! Definitely a must read!