Film Financing and Investment Highlights

Qatar’s Sheikha Al Mayassa Launches the Doha Film Institute

Marking a major step in expanding the scope of its international film ambitions, Qatar’s Sheikha Al Mayassa has officially launched the Doha Film Institute (DFI), a new umbrella organisation established to bring all of Qatar’s film initiatives under one banner.

The Doha Film Institute (DFI) is the country’s first year-round international cultural film organisation dedicated to film appreciation, education, financing, production and to building a long term sustainable film industry in Qatar.

Qatar has a long term strategy in investing and expanding the film industry, in earlier press releases, it is estimated it will invest between 20 to 30 films each year; and also promote Qatar into a major film production destination.

Atlantic Film Group, Prescience ink deal

Atlantic Film Group and U.K. financier Prescience have sealed a strategic alliance that will give Atlantic Film Group's Antipodean financing subsidiary, Atlantic South, access to a facility worth an anticipated $20 million a year, the companies said Sunday.

The British fund will provide debt, equity and bridge financing via Atlantic South for Australian and New Zealand productions and co-productions in the $5 million-$15 million budget range.

Atlantic South, based in Sydney and Auckland, is headed up by Atlantic Film Group founder, Alan Harris, a film producer and specialist in co-production and international financial structuring. Harris estimates that the Atlantic/Prescience venture could provide up to 60% of a qualifying production's budget.

Australian film production firms have been very busy this year in Cannes, they have been promoting their opportunities in Cannes and also in Asia recently.

European Commissions announced new €12 million support scheme for dubbing and subtitling films in Catalan
The European Commission has approved a €12 million Spanish scheme to support the dubbing and subtitling of films in Catalan. The scheme is in line with EU rules that allow state subsidies for cultural objectives and, in the case at stake, for the promotion of multilingualism and cultural diversity
The scheme notified by the Spanish government aims to promote the use of the Catalan language, in particular in the film industry. Around 800 films released in Spain every year are dubbed in Spanish while only 20-25 films are dubbed in Catalan. A further 10-15 are subtitled in Catalan. These figures are provided by the Spanish authorities.

Case Studies: Animations

Recently, we have been asked which countries / markets have special interests in animations, especially relating to 3D animations. The new 3D animations has introduced a new dynamic to the filming industry, as suddenly, investors can see a new angle for investment returns; and some companies that have invested in 3D video games productions / companies have also started investing into 3D film productions.

Apart from United States, there are also investors you can consider in Asia, particularly Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore where animations (mainly influenced by Japanese) has always been a major market in those markets. If you are involved in 3D productions, there are also facilities readily available in Asia as well as talent, my cousin, for instance, based in Taiwan, was involved in the 3D animation of Shriek, so there are plenty of local talent available.

Investments are often available from media companies for animations; but countries like Singapore, Taiwan also see great opportunities in interactive media; and you can also consider some of the funding programs available there.

Here are some media companies for you to consider: Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. (Japan) is a major media company in Japan and has been involved in animations productions & distributions, Fuse Capital, an investment firm based in United States with operations across Asia is also involved in investing in digital media including digital TV productions; also Toei Animations (Japan) is another major animation producer company based in Japan.

Looking for Film Investment ideas? Check out our Global Film & Entertainment Investors Guide available on http://researchwhitepaper.com