Index

CO-PRODUCTIONS AND CO-VENTURES

As Canadian producers of film and television programming, Cinegraphe is interested in co-producing with partners around the world. Canada has signed co-production treaties with a large number of countries. Each treaty lays down the rules of co-production and these rules must be satisfied before a co-production can go ahead.

Unfortunately, co-productions are exceedingly difficult to finance and the situation is exacerbated by the incompetence of the co-production authorities in Canada. To do a co-production, you need an international sale or private funds that will fill the gaping hole on both sides of your budget. We recommend co-ventures with Canada which are much easier to finance, not as costly and put more money on the screen.

REIMBURSABLE TAX CREDITS

Cinegraphe with its regional offices has access to various provincial tax credits, in particular the Quebec tax credit (base & bonuses) at up to 65% on manpower, the Nova Scotia tax credit at 60%, occasionally the Manitoba tax credit at 55% and the New Brunswick all expense rebate at 30%. With the right mix of tax credits, we could theoretically finance a maximum of approximately 40% of your total budget from tax credits alone!

It usually takes several months to get an evaluation of the tax credit and a government letter of credit for financing.

MINORITY CO-PRODUCTION FINANCING

Cinegraphe is particularly interested in co-producing with partners who already have financing in place for feature projects. After reviewing your project and determining the additional funding required, Cinegraphe may decide to take a minority position in the equity of your film. Cinegraphe will then raise a certain number of presales with distributors, Canadian broadcasters, and other funding agencies.

NEW PRODUCTION SERVICES TAX CREDIT

If a co-production is not possible or desirable, then production service tax credits can be very advantageous. To benefit from these tax credits, you need to shoot a substantial portion of your film in Canada. Together with the federal tax credit of 16% of Canadian manpower, you could get a rebate of up to 30% of your total Canadian spend. These tax credits are financed by Canadian banks at low interest rates since reimbursement can take time.

CLOSING THE DEAL

The majority of feature film projects never go into production because the producers cannot close the deal. It takes imagination and a good deal of flexibility to close the financing on a film. Our priority at Cinegraphe is to close the finance and make the movie. We are very good at doing this.