Good Morning!
I am looking to secure funding for a new short film, due to filmed in 2023 in LA. We are delighted that we have potential interest from a LA based film production company for a co-production on the new film. In the UK, the BFI offers funds for international co-production, but I wondered if anyone is aware of an equivalent in LA or US in general.
Many thanks!
Paul
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Hi Paul, the US ecosystem is different than most international governing bodies. There are some grants you can apply for from different organizations and contests you can enter to try to get funding, but for the most part in the US short films are self-funded, family & friends funded or crowdfunded.
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Hi Paul Chantry Does the production company in LA plan to offer any funds? Since they are interested in your project, they should be able to offer you further assistance.
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Amanda Toney is right; the U.S. does not have a country-supported co-production system offering government resources like the BFI for short films other than perhaps arts grants. Below the federal level, there are funding programs and tax incentives in many states. For example, check out the California Film Commission for info on the Film & Television Tax Credit Program. But a short (under 75 minutes running time) would again not be eligible for most of these types of government financing options.
As Colette "ByFilms" Byfield suggests, an international co-production in the U.S. would typically look like a partnership or an investment. Under a co-production structure, each partner or investor contributes funds to a project based on the benefits they anticipate from exploitation. But since shorts offer little opportunity for profit, there would need to be some other reason to participate in such a deal.
Making an industry calling card, creative opportunity, passion for the story, etc. are all great reasons to make a short. Without giving any legal advice here, though, I would be certain that everyone is on the same page. Your idea of co-production could be something different from the LA company. For example, it might be that they just expect to be hired and paid to make a film, which is what they typically do.
Good call Dane Johnson . I don’t know exactly what Paul means when he says that there is “potential interest” from a production company. I assumed that if they plan to buy the script they should be able to produce it using their own resources.
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Thank you for your wonderful guidance. I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply. The LA based company has expressed interest in the content of the short film and potentially working together on it. We have planned to discuss with them the funding opportunities available there, but thought we could reach out to others (such as yourselves) for advice of the funding situation in the US before we meet with the company in September. Many thanks!
That sounds good Paul Chantry. Thanks for the update!
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