Film Funding

Think about the film you’re working on, the one you’d finish if you had the money. Now ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish with my work? What’s my mission statement as a filmmaker? What kind of films do I want to be making in five years?

While creative professionals continue to adapt in the face of economic hurdles, the LEF Foundation, founded in 1985 to support contemporary art, has made changes of its own with ramifications that impact both narrative and documentary filmmakers seeking financial assistance.

Budget difficulties have affected states across the
country.  State legislatures have struggled to find new revenue or cut
spending.  One area under increased scrutiny in three New England states is tax
credits for film production.  Rhode Island is in the midst of just such a
controversy.  On March 13th, the Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee heard
testimony regarding proposed legislation that would put a $10 million cap on
film credits per year. 

Now that you’ve got the money (see part I), you’re wondering what is the best way to organize pre-production, production, and post-production so you have enough left over for promotion.  If you're like most filmmakers, you already know how to put a film together.  But a partnership with a corporate expat brings slightly different expectations.

Tucked behind the sprawling Charles River campus of Boston University in an unassuming strip of office buildings is the 22,000 square foot facility that houses National Boston: National Boston is New England’s premiere design, motion graphics, high and standard definition television resource. The company was founded in the early 1990s by Tom Sprague to provide corporations, broadcast networks, advertising agencies, and filmmakers the ability to extend their brands and films across the nation and the world.

Is Rhode Island on the brink of becoming the next Hollywood? The buzz around the Ocean State is that it will at least give Tinseltown a run for its money if new legislation recently announced is passed. At a March press conference complete with popcorn, movie clips, and director’s chairs, Speaker of the House William J. Murphy announced new legislation that would provide tax incentives to film and television companies who bring their productions to Rhode Island. Under the new bill (2005 - H6201), production companies would not have read more...

Film aficionado, LeTicia Lee who has recently released "The Filmmaker’s Guide to Film Financing (There’s An Angel In Your Corner) "through independent publisher Lulu Press is rather humble yet passionate about sharing the book. She says she published her notebook and rolodex in a way after seeing so many of her peers standing in one lane of what seemed like a 100-lane highway. Perhaps that lane known as Hollywood is lit brightest and paved with gold dust. But is it the best road to take? LeTicia believes you can be your own studio boss.

From major corporate giants such as Mark Cuban and Roger Marino to more localized entrepreneurs like Mitchell Robbins, more and more investors traditionally unassociated with the film industry are funding and producing movies. Making motion pictures is no longer Hollywood’s exclusive province. In fact, in 2003 the box office revenue for independently made films checked in at around three billion dollars. These large revenues have attracted an ever-growing group of investors and venture capital firms to consider financing -- and profiting from -- motion pictures.

"People get into business because they love doing it, they’re passionate about the act of filmmaking... but they don’t have the business background and I think if you’re not putting equal attention on becoming business savvy you’re crippling your opportunity to succeed in what you really love." (Kate Arno; the Director of Training and Communication at the Maine Small Business Development Center)

Grant writing is, for most, the least exciting, most exasperating aspect of filmmaking. The drudgery of pounding out a synopsis, the agonizing over every little adjective to avoid spilling over a word limit, the months of waiting for the seemingly inevitable rejection -- all repellant enough to make anyone run screaming from an arts foundation and head for the hills. For a filmmaker anxious to tell their story, passion can take a backseat to financial roadblock. Getting an independent film funded can halt the creative process for years at a read more...

What is a humanities project? This is the place to start with when you’re thinking of applying for a Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities (MFH) Media Grant. The answer starts with community. MFH defines it as a project that sheds light on the history or culture of an area. Humanities include a group’s past, present, languages, ethics, laws, history, finances, architecture, culture, literature, archeology, philosophy, values, religion, arts, sociology, or psychology. Thinking of humanities topics is easier than it seems: if it’s read more...

If you are a prospective filmmaker living (or at least shooting) in Maine, chances are you’re not exactly rolling in money as you try to fund your projects. Well, if you’re sick of eating your special breadless PB&J sandwiches three meals a day to get your movie off the ground, you might want to check out some of the grant opportunities that the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) has to offer.

You may have heard the good news: film and video was one of six disciplines designated to receive funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council's (MCC) Artist Grants Program this fiscal year. It's more likely, however, that you've heard the bad news: the MCC has seen a much-lamented 60 percent cut in state funding from last year, which, for the film and video community, makes an already rabid competition for grant money even more fierce.

For over 75 years, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has helped scholars in their pursuit of knowledge and artists in their thirst for creation. The Foundation was started in 1925 by former U.S. Senator, Simon Guggenheim and his wife, Olga Hirsch Guggenheim in honor of their son who passed away three years earlier. The expressed purpose of the program is to help provide Fellows with blocks of time in which they can work with as much creative freedom as possible.

It is a rare thing for an unalloyed vision to persist in today’s studio system; while many grant organizations offer only a handful of grants that are not buttressed by the structure of the business of filmmaking. Enter Creative Capital, which seeks to combine a business and practical model of filmmaking with the artistic integrity of its beneficiaries.

One of the most important elements in filmmaking -- unlike many of the other arts -- is that fact that making a film is a collaborative process that requires, above all else, large sums of money for production and distribution. Unfortunately this crucial aspect of the making of a film is often the one given the least amount of attention. After all, people don’t get into filmmaking to work on their financial resource skills, but to make films.

Funding from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) enabled local filmmakers like Geoff Adams and Jim Walpow to complete their projects. Like other similar organizations in New England, Rhode Island offers potential grants to aspiring filmmakers from the Ocean State. The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency, supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts read more...

If only money grew on trees. Unfortunately, as we all know, it does not. And unless you are Ken Burns or one of a select few filmmakers, chances are nobody has been throwing money your way to enable you to make your film. Of course, most independent filmmakers already know that fundraising is an important, if not essential, part of the business. Yet a downward-sloping economy and recent budget cuts for organizations that have traditionally funded film and video have left many filmmakers increasingly anxious about where they will get the funds read more...

The arts thrive when communities embrace their creative artists.  And communities thrive when artists use their visions to enrich the world around them.  Such is the symbiotic relationship that is the driving force behind the Vermont Arts Council (VAC), based in Montpelier, Vermont.

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"The artists fellowship program is designed to encourage the continuing artistic development of artists who are seriously committed to their art form. It is Connecticut’s way of supporting it’s base, the vital center of the arts community," says Linda Dente, Senior Program Associate of the Connecticut Artist Fellowships.  The Artists Fellowship is devoted to residents of Connecticut who have demonstrated a history of professional activity in the state.  With funding from the National Endowment for the read more...

Remember that annoying phrase your parents would say right after you lost a big game or the lead role in the school play? "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again?"

Well, it's back. But this time you'll be happy to hear it, because it's coming from the lips of Lois Vossen, director of broadcast distribution and communication at The Independent Television Service (ITVS).

A family foundation with offices in Cambridge, MA and St. Helena, CA, the LEF Foundation began awarding grants in 1985 to visual, media and performing arts projects focusing on AIDS advocacy, the urban and natural environment, and critical community needs. LEF Foundation primarily supports projects with a strong presence in California and New England, and also considers relevant proposals outside these regions. In New England, LEF has become known for its strong support of film and video projects and media arts read more...

The reality of filmmaking is this: you gotta have money. Since few of us are independently wealthy enough to fulfill our dreams, we have to look outside for the funds to complete our life’s work. Fundraising can certainly become a full-time gig, but luckily there are organizations out there committed to helping independent filmmakers succeed. One such organization is the International Film Financing Conference, or IFFCON, held annually in San Francisco.

When Michal Goldman began making a film about traditional Eastern European Jewish dance music, she had no idea she would end up by founding not one but two organizations that link Boston-area filmmakers to one another.

The Filmmakers Collaborative was born, nearly fifteen years ago, and later, its sister organization- the Boston Jewish Film Festival, out of a desire for creative autonomy and support for independent filmmakers and their work.

Beginnings

[Editor’s Note: In an effort to shed light on New England grant sources, Nefilm will begin to highlight foundations, grants, and fellowships that have been instrumental in supporting the production independent films in our region. We hope these profiles will inspire our readers/filmmakers to apply for funding and keep the creativity flowing.]

For better or worse, the financial environment of independent cinema is changing. New technologies have altered the filmmaking process, and traditional ways of raising funds and securing distribution are quickly outdated. Yet new funding opportunities for independent filmmakers are emerging just as fast. Whether or not the "digital revolution" changes the way films are made and distributed in the coming years, it will undoubtedly expand opportunities for independent filmmakers seeking funds for their movies.

A struggling filmmaker, beret askew, shoots in black and white on a deserted city street, with only one goal in mind: to capture the grit and reality of everyday life. "Finances be damned!" he thinks. "This is art."

For many, that is the image that comes to mind when the topic of independent film comes up. But filmmaking is more than art; it is also business. Just ask David Kleiler, director of Local Sightings, Inc., and a 30-year veteran of the Boston film community.