Anyone invested in films?

[srebbe64]

I had an IFA and Tax expert meet me today and he made a very compelling case for investing in a film of some sort. There are major Tax breaks, providing you invest more than ten hours a week in the venture.

Anyone done this? If so, what was the result?

[Eric Mc]

Mosdt film projects are financial failures. Look on it as a high risk investment.

[khushy]

My business partner hasd done this - a small/modest investment in a british film.

If you want more info - e.mail me [e-mail]

khushy

[JustinP1]

Eric Mc said:

Mosdt film projects are financial failures. Look on it as a high risk investment.

But its for the art, man...


Seriously though, there are a few British films which return a very high ratio compared to Hollywood. Like factors of 20 or more as a few are successful with a reasonably small investment - for a film that is.

Out of interest, what are the tax breaks if anyone knows?

[Plotloss]

You'd be better off investing in the housing market...

[lambogenie]

Invest in a porno, they always make money, not sure about the tax breaks but there must be some residual interest. ahem.

[Eric Mc]

For a long time, most tax reliefs available in investing in film was through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) I think this is coming to an end soon if not already finished.

The government were very clever in this. It looked gpood in that they were seen to be assisting the British film industry - but knew very well that the number of British film projects that would ever come to fruition and provide a potential taxable return on investment (on which the EIS would be applied) was tiny.

Good PR for them at little or no cost.

[Spydermon]

JustinP1 said:

Eric Mc said:

Mosdt film projects are financial failures. Look on it as a high risk investment.

But its for the art, man...


Seriously though, there are a few British films which return a very high ratio compared to Hollywood. Like factors of 20 or more as a few are successful with a reasonably small investment - for a film that is.

Out of interest, what are the tax breaks if anyone knows?

I have never produced a film, so don't know the exact details. But most film projects are 'failures' because they are just that, unfinished films. Getting an independent film finished is very difficult, and then getting any kind of distribution is even harder.

The ratio of unfinished films in this country is far less than in Hollywood IMHO, and the number of funded and sorted productions is just as high. Often the money comes from America, because it's cheaper here than there, for now anyway.

IMHO the person that needs to be grilled the most is the Producer, not the creative team; i.e. Writer or Director, they are too enthusiastic and rarely care about the numbers until they run out of money. But the Producer (should) only care about the money. Another is the Casting Director; who do they know and which actors can they get 'attached' to the project? Names bring money and excellent crew, plus all the different aspects of the film get done properly.

So; don't fear British films, there are tremendous talented crews out there crying out for 'proper' film work, and not dull repetitive TV work. There are also great scripts that would work, film and pay, but there is a prevalent 'don't do British' feeling that starves the process and creates the 'unfinished' film in the first place.

A good way of checking the 'provenance' of a Producer or production is to check with the UK Film Council. They provide 'seed' funding for most, if not all, of the worthwhile productions, and they are also in contact with the big funders, the film-finishers if you like, so are good to talk to. If a production has no connection with the UKFC then I'd be wary. Again IMHO.

Another thing to bear in mind is where in the process you are getting involved, now this can be a mire. There are three distinct parts of a nascent film's life: Pre-production, Production (filming) and Post-Production. If you are investing in the first part this is 'seed' money, and you are creating it as such. If the second then you should be wary at first, they may have problems that you can't solve and your money may just 'disappear.' If the third, then make sure that your involvement is watertight, and not just and 'angel' investor with no real stake in the profits.

There's obviously more to it than I've outlined here, but if you are careful and do the homework then you are contributing to a worthy cause that can have great rewards. Caveat Investor and all that; and of course these are all just my opinions, and I may have some bias.