Financing Your Film looks to be DYnaMiC

Financing Your Film

I just looked over the website for an upcoming conference on how to maneuver through financing a film. Holy Moly Mother of Pearl! Albuquerque, hold onto your seats and get ready to make your film dreams become film realities! We have THE panel of experts in the field of financing an independent film on their way.

I was hooked by the background which draws you into the glam and glitz of film; it's all gold tones and film reels.

The sheer name dropping quality of this conference is worth its cover charge! -which doubles as a contribution to the not-for-profit Film Apprenticeship Programs Inc (FAPI) organization! This organization has been remarkable in their pursuit of creating apprenticeships, sponsoring youth, and bettering the film community in New Mexico with their efforts. So by attending this conference we benefit from what we learn and we empower FAPI to create quality craftsmen for the films we will be making, talk about a win-win!

Let's talk about SPONSORS! This conference is being sponsored by a talented group of New Mexicans: our very own Nick Ward and The Root 66, the MCM Elegante Hotel (located on Menaul and University), Rip Williams photography, Reel Solutions, and Spirit Productions. These are some pretty big guns in New Mexico's growing film industry! Along with these New Mexicans this conference is also being sponsored by Crowe Horwathe LLP an international leader in consulting.

The PANEL, which has been designated as "The Best Film Panel At Sundance Film Festival in Years!" by Marshall Moore from the Utah Film Commission, includes some serious names in the business as a whole. Todd Hein, Paul Wiltz, Hal "Corky" Kessler, Richard “Rick” M. Myerson, John Corser, and Louise Levison. I won't go into their bio's here, check out the website, but suffice it to say that these names go a LONG way in the industry and New Mexico is about to benefit in a big way from this infusion of experts!

I was amazed when I saw that only 200 attendees are allowed! Let's do the math here; 200 attendees / 6 experts = 30ish people per break out session, 3 hours per session or 180 minutes / 30 people = an estimated 6 minutes of personal time with an expert of choice.
The average school student gets 2.5 minutes one-on-one with their teacher in a given day and the reporters that have to tell us what is going on with our country only get 15 to 30 seconds with The President.

Then, on top of that, I found out in an interview with Nick Ward of The Root 66, that we get to send in questions for the experts to review before the conference and they will then answer those questions during the conference. We get to benefit from SO much! Wow!

Here is an excerpt from the site, found at www.financingyourfilm.com

This seminar goes into detail about the following topics:
• How to protect your material. The importance of Copyright and the “Chain of Title”
• When is a screenplay ready to be financed?
• How to build a pitch team for investors, and who to stay away from.
• How to attach your Talent, Casting Directors, Agents, and Managers.
• How to attach your Director, DP, Production Designer, and Key Personnel.
• When do you need an attorney, an accountant, and a line producer?
• How to prepare your numbers, the production budget, and the schedule.
• Why do you need a business plan?
• How is a “Business Plan” different from a “Producer’s Package?”
• The legal and business pitfalls to avoid in the process.
• How to monetize the tax rebates and credits.
• The importance of financial projections and cash flow.
• How and where to look for funding.
• What to look for in distribution deals.
• How to qualify investors and recognize scams.

Folks, this butterfly thinks that this conference is gonna make Dynamic change for New Mexico film makers and those who want to be! Plus you are benefiting FAPI !

FaBuLouS!