Film Budget | European Film Festival in China 2011

EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL IN CHINA

Europe is marketing its movies to China and apparently, the Chinese are loving it!

Such is the success of the annual European Union Film Festival in China that the event, which is now its fourth year, could be expecting greater numbers than ever before!  Last year, the event expanded to showcase films in three Chinese cities and according to EU Ambassador Markus Ederer, the number of moviegoers increased from 5,000 attendees in 2008 up to 13,000 in 2010.

What: European Union Film Festival

When: November 1^st – 30^th 2011

Where: Beijing and two other cities in China (TBA)

The film festival, organized by the Delegation of the European Union to China and supported by the Embassy of Poland,  invited all 27 EU Member States to showcase one recent, popular and successful film.

The organizers of the festival hope that the event will increase the appreciation of European films and culture among the Chinese, hence paving the way for the possibility of importing European movies into China in the future.

The films screened at this year’s festival include a diverse mix of local flavors and a wide-range of genres from comedies and dramas to documentaries. Moviegoers can view their films of choice in commercial theatres as well as in cultural institutions.

Among this year’s selections are some of the following European picks:

France – “The Piano Turner”

Denmark – “Aching Hearts”

Italy – “20 Cigarettes”

Portugal –  ”Beauty and the Paparazzo”

Each film is screened in its original language with English and Chinese subtitles.

Meanwhile, the European Film Academy has unveiled its nominations for the 2011 European Film Awards. You can see a full list of the nominees on their official website – www.europeanfilmacademy.org

Winners will be announced in a December 3^rd ceremony in Berlin.

###

Film Budget | The international leader in worldwide film budgeting and scheduling production services for film finance, production incentives and film tax credits.

FilmBudget.com

Film Production in the UK – Jan to Sept 2011

Film Production in the UK – Jan to Sept 2011 – Report from the BFI Research and Statistics Unit – 3 November 2011

Eighty-six films achieving film budgeting levels of £500,000 or more entered into principal photography in the United Kingdom during the first quarter of 2011.  This amount of production starts represented the lowest rate in 9 years.  Of these productions:

-Twenty-three were co-productions

-Forty-seven were domestic UK features

-Sixteen were inward investment films

Undoubtedly these figures have supported and lead to Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent extension of the film tax credits program through 2015.

Read the full report from the British Film Institute

Filmbudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film budgeting and scheduling line producer film production services.

Film Budget .com | American Film Market (AFM) 2011 Film Finance and International Sales Roundup

American Film Market (AFM) 2011 Round-Up

The 2011 American Film Market is winding down at the moment and as promised, this year’s event is proving to be quite a success!   Though film financing remains a difficult proposition, projects with the right combination of well known talent, directors and strong marketing prospects funding is on the rise in combination with lenders, equity, gap,  film tax credits, co-productions, government funding and incentives.   The market is indeed hungry for quality films to distribute with solid packages, a film budget with a reasonable recoupment potential and name talent is the constant mantra.

Here are a list of some the deals that were made at this year’s AFM:  (updates forthcoming as we write)

* IM-Global takes rights to ‘The Sister’ for Europe, Latin America

* Universal Pictures International Entertainment has picked up rights to Content Film’s ‘Hard Boiled Sweets’ for the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux and Scandinavia

* Drafthouse Films has picked up crime drama ‘Bullhead’ and raucous comedy ‘Clown’, for distribution in North America

* Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has picked up domestic distribution rights to ‘Bel Ami’, from Protagonist Pictures. The company also picked up comedy ‘Bailout’ starring Jack Black, for multiple territories including North America, South America and Scandinavia.

* FiGa Films has picked up ‘The Last Christeros’ (Los ultimos cristeros) by Matias Meyer, which had its world premiere in Toronto Film Festival (link to blog on Toronto Film Festival), and ‘Machete Language’, directed by Kyzza Terrazas, which had its world premiere in Venice.

* FilmDistrict has acquired ‘Drive’ the Nicolas Winding Refn-directed film adaptation of James Sallis’ suspense-themed novel

* Sierra Pictures announced the acquisition of ‘Rampart’, a crime thriller starring Woody Harrelson. The company also picked up comedy ‘Darling Companion’, which stars Kevin Kline, Diane Keaton.

* Tiberius Film has picked up a trio of horror sequels – ‘Piranha 3D’, ‘Children of the Corn: Genesis’ and ‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ for the German market.

* Exclusive Media Group picks up international rights for ensemble drama ‘Disconnect’

* Lightning Entertaiment picked up 7 films including ‘Brake’, ‘Columbus Circle’ and ‘Wrath’, making their world premiere debut at the AFM. The other films are ‘Boy Wonder’, ‘Bloodwork’, ‘The Trouble with Bliss’ and ‘Scents sand Sensibility’

* Wild Bunch acquired the international rights to Academy-Award winner Geoffrey Fletcher’s directorial debut ‘Violet & Daisy’

* Los Angeles-based film production, financing and foreign-sales company Unified Pictures has entered into a three-movie deal with Vancouver-headquartered production-finance group Bron Studios

Announcements of major financings include:

* Exclusive will finance Matt Damon’s ‘Yesterday’ with Focus Features handling U.S.

* Endgame Entertainment announced the creation of Endgame Releasing, to provide as much as $500 million in funding for marketing and distribution of four to six wide release movies per year through major studios. One of the first movies to tap into the fund will be the movie ‘Looper’  starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

* W2 Media has come on to co-finance and distribute ”The Theatre Bizarre 2,” a sequel to Severin Films and Mataluna Prods.’ ”The Theater Bizarre” horror anthology.

* Green Isle Entertainment has entered into an initial $60 million dollar multiple picture financing agreement for film budgets with Allegiance Capital Corp.

* IM Global to finance $20 million action-drama ‘Hummingbird’.

These are just a few of the ‘official’ announcements. With the AFM still underway, many more similar announcements are anticipated in the coming days. With deals being made fast and furious – don’t miss your chance to catch a piece of the  action! For more information on this year’s AFM, check out the blog on filmbudget.com

 Filmbudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film budget and schedule line producer film budgeting production services.  Film finance and camera ready movie budget and schedule packages.

American Film Market – AFM – International Distribution, Financing and Sales Market

AMERICAN FILM MARKET 2011 – Be Pro-active, Prepared & ready to Pitch!!

Are you an enterprising filmmaker, producer or writer with a brilliant idea looking to make the right connections in the business, obtain film financing and get your project underway?

Well, now may be the break you’ve been waiting for! If you don’t already know about the American Film Market, then its time to do your research and seriously think about attending this event.

There’s a well-known expression in the film business – its not what you know but who you know, that really counts.  It may be a common cliché but there is plenty of truth to the old saying. The problem most of us in the business encounter, however, is the ‘how’ and ‘where’ aspects of getting to meet these so-called ‘right’ people. This is precisely why forums like the American Film Market  (AFM) present such a golden opportunity.

A quick synopsis of the AFM – it is organized by the global trade association of independent film & television producers and distributors, known as the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). It is an eight-day event held in Los Angeles (from Nov 2^nd -9^th ) in which more than 400 films will be screened and more than 400 production/distribution companies will be exhibiting. It is an international event, with 8,000 attendees from more than 70 countries expected to attend. Furthermore organizers estimate that more than $800 million in deals will be closed this year.

What:  American Film Market

When: November 2-9, 2011

Where:  Loews Hotel – 1700 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401

MAP

If that sounds enticing and you’re keen to get a piece of that estimated $800 million pie, then you’ve got be willing to pay the price for the ticket. Passes for the event start at $345 and upward.

Also, a word to the wise – be prepared. Like any opportunity, the AFM will be most lucrative to those who do their research and adopt a professional, business-like approach to the forum. Most importantly – do your research! This really cannot be stressed enough.  It is important to identify your goals – ask yourself, what it is you want to achieve from the AFM? Once you’ve identified what you want to get out of the forum, the next step would be develop a target list of the people you want to meet and then proceeding to scheduling the key meetings.

Finally, you should be aware – the AFM is not a festival. While a number of films are screened at the festival, there are no competitions and subsequently no prizes. It is essentially a coming together of a range of ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ in the film industry. An opportunity to network with your peers, raise money for projects and possibly even walk away with some signed contracts.

So be pro-active, be prepared and be ready to pitch! Keep these things in mind and you just never know what you may walk away with….

Get ready for the American Film Market with a film budget by Filmbudget.com - the international leader in worldwide film budgeting and scheduling production services.

Film financing, distribution, foreign sales, film tax credits and your investors require an accurate, quality film budget that is reliable and bankable.

Celebrating 25 years experience producing major studio and independent film for the international entertainment industry.

Michigan Film Tax Incentives Economic and Fiscal Impact Report

Ernst & Young just released their analysis of the film tax incentives program in Michigan.    It is titled “Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Michigan Film Tax Credit” February 2011.

The report was commissioned by the Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Traverse City, Michigan organizations.

The Fiscal Impact Report clearly states what the proponents have been stating:  the film tax incentives work, creating a thriving and job creating industry.   The Michigan film industry has grown enormously since its creation in 2008.    The study finds an economic output ratio of $6 of activity for every $1 of film tax credit.  This has translated into an $812 Million successful return for the State of Michigan on a net outlay of $127 Million.    The incentives have created over 6,000 jobs and attracted major feature film and television production to a state badly in need of investment.

Read the entire Ernst & Young “Fiscal Impacts of the Michigan Film Tax Credits” report.

Presented by Filmbudget.com | The international leader in worldwide film budgets and schedules services, global film tax incentives and production services

Movie Budget by FilmBudget.com

Film Budgets | Section 181 Federal Film Tax Incentive Renewed

President Obama signed into law on Friday, December 17, 2010 a tax package which contains the extension of Section 181 in the form of Section 744.   Qualifying productions included film and television production, audiovisual, dvd programs which were produced in 2009, 2010 and which have film budgets of $15 Million or less and those which will be produced in 2011.

Section 181

Section 181 provides for a 100% tax write-off for a film equity investor in entertainment productions as opposed to the standard three year staggered write-off.   Know as the ‘Runaway Production” tax bill, Section 181 helps film budgets with its benefit of allowing investors to take advantage of the 100% write-off.

Film Tax Incentives

The write-off of film tax incentive can be combined the many state film tax incentive programs around the country:  Michigan, New Mexico, Louisiana, Georgia, etc.    Combining such film tax credits with Section 181 can contribute a substantial return to your investors which you may offer them which can be very enticing to a film financier.    The government wisely realized that helping financiers focus their film investments locally can improve the film industry in the USA and was designed to help fight the flight overseas, particularly to Canada which was growing as producers sought lower production costs and the previously lower Canadian dollar exchange rate.

Film Budgets

In todays economy and tight credit market film budgets are much more under scrutiny if able to be found at all!  Film finance is at its tightest point in decades, if not a generation.   While filmbudget.com is the global leader in worldwide film budgets and schedules we also figure the most advantageous place to shoot a movie or television production taking into account the local labor scenario, the best film tax incentives and of course the highest production value which the particular setting may offer.

AFM – American Film Market 2010

AFM 2010

The AFM 2010 American Film Market in Santa Monica, California kicks off Wednesday, November 3rd through Wednesday, November 10, 2010.   The premiere film market for independent film in the United States and the world AFM is on par with the Cannes Film Market of the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market, Sundance and now Toronto Film Festival as the mandatory stop for foreign sales agents, independent film producers, distributors, film buyers, producers representatives and production companies.   Productions with large film budgets to smaller movie budgets are represented here and every level of film budget in between representing the entire breadth and scale of the worlwide film production industry.

Worlwide Film Business

With the exponential growth in overseas (non-US domestic) theatrical and television outlets and demand, the AFM grew out of a need to represent buyers and sellers armed with finished films, screeners, scripts, film budgets and finance plans in a professional format and centralized location to conduct an incredible amount of business in a short period of time.   In order to fill supply chains built up by the demand from growing terrestrial, satellite, cable, DVD, pay-per-view globally, distributors have come to rely on the strength of the film business market presence and concentration that the American Film Market offers.

Global Entertainment Companies

Over 8,000 film executives and professionals from all regions of the globe come to participate in the industry’s ultimate film buying and selling event.   More than 400 production companies, distribution companies, foreign sales agencies and related firms are indeed in attendance with their screenplays, film budgets and finance plans, finished films and a film budget for marketing P & A, expanding their involvement in the current product pipeline business for movies, film, television, new media and all their related outlets.

Conferences, Seminars, Meetings

AFM likewise presents an ideal opportunity for filmmakers and movie industry pros to network, exchange ideas, movie budgets and product information.   Top notch conferences and seminars are held each year on film finance, foreign sales, movie marketing, film tax incentives, film tax credits, movie funds and film production.  This year is no exception with panels from industry leaders in film financing and heavyweights like Harvey Weinstein on the current state of filmmaking today.

Nowhere in North America will the film industry see a greater collection of film professionals dedicated to the production, finance, marketing and distribution of indie film and television.

Filmbudget.com is the international leader in worlwide film budgets and movie budgeting services and global film tax incentive advisor.  Specializing in providing maximum film production value for the most efficient film cost each film budget is custom tailored to our client’s projects with meticulous attention to detail.  Contact us for a quote for your film budgets and schedules, film consulting and line producer and film budgeting services.

Film Budgets custom made by studio/indie line producer