Independent Film Finance: A Research-Based Guide to Funding Your Movie

by David Offenberg

Overview

For aspiring producers and directors who need to learn film finance from the ground up, this revolutionary new book teaches the fundamentals, through the voices of more than 60 successful independent producers. Using a research and data-based approach, award-winning professor David Offenberg combines the wisdom of well-known and successful producers into one fun, easy-to-follow guide.

Within, readers will learn how to talk to potential investors and what those financiers will expect from them in return. The book is also packed with informative anecdotes and examples to enrich each chapter and contextualize the film financing landscape. As the book progresses, equity, debt, revenue, profits, and their role in your movie will be explored. Accessible information about tax incentives and profit participations is included to help emerging filmmakers build out a workable financing plan. The book combines hard numbers and data sets, with direct guidance from successful producers, to construct a holistic overview on how you can turn your new-found financial knowledge into funding for your movie.

This ground-breaking book is a must-read for any aspiring producer or director who wishes to gain an informed and easily digestible understanding of film finance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032426051
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/02/2023
Series:	American Film Market Presents
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

David Offenberg is an Associate Professor of Finance in the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and is amongst the world’s leading academic experts in entertainment finance. Dr. Offenberg won the most prestigious teaching award for finance professors in 2018 and the Financial Management Association’s Innovation in Teaching Award. He is frequently quoted in the press, with mentions by CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, Vanity Fair, Wall St. Journal, and The Wrap.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Business and Finance Basics 1. The Wisdom of the Crowd 2. The (Movie) Business 3. The Language of Business 4. Debt Financing 5. Participation and Deferred Compensation 6. Tax Incentives and Soft Money 7. Budgets 8. Four Paths to Funding Your Budget Part 2: Financing Your Film 9. First Law of Film Finance 10. The Market Value of Your Film 11. A Financing Plan 12. Equity in Independent Film Part 3: Beyond the Basics 13. Experience Matters 14. People Matter 15. Pipelines Matter 16. Luck Matters 17. Many Other Things Matter Too 18. Action Plan

Editorial Reviews

"This is the ideal book for those looking to peek behind the curtain of how films are actually financed and therefore completed.  A must read for independent producers and filmmakers." – Josh Ellis, Professor at Miami Dade College

From the Publisher