Advanced Film Financing Webinar: Revenue Management for International Co-Productions

As the world becomes flatter and technology brings us closer together, opportunities for international cooperation continue to abound. For producers or creatives looking to find or bolster their next indie project, there is a huge amount of potential in joining forces with companies or teams from other countries and pooling your resources together, creating something larger than the sum of its parts. Forming an international co-production can give you access to more funding and financing opportunities, more access to locations, actors and crew, and more sales and distribution opportunities after the film is finished. But while international co-productions can reap great rewards, they also present unique financial challenges. Navigating this transnational world requires a set of skills and wherewithal that can be hard earned but is hugely valuable.

Financing any film or project is tricky, but international co-production can be especially complicated, particularly when it comes to revenue management. After all, revenues generated by the project will need to be split amongst several producers and usually their financiers and talent as well. Not only are you dealing with more stakeholders, but also more countries, each with their own systems and regulations. Complicated though it might be, it’s your responsibility as the film’s producer to know how to navigate these waters and ensure the revenue is shared correctly and efficiently. Doing so will not only ensure that your current project is a success, but also allow you to hold on to your foreign relationship, boost your international reputation, and give you the ability to have partners to work with for future projects to come.

David Zannoni is an international business specialist for Fintage House in the US, Europe, Canada and Latin America territories. Fintage House, the world's most respected company for revenue and rights protection for industry professionals and companies. David negotiates agreements for films and television series and is involved in business development and relationship management globally on hundreds of productions. David is continuously present to make deals and speak at international film markets, festivals and conferences, including: the Cannes Film Festival, the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin, the American Film Market (AFM), Ventana Sur, the Bogota Audiovisual Market (BAM), and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and travels regularly to the United States, the Netherlands, Europe, and all over Latin America.

David will teach you how revenue management and revenue sharing on international co-productions work and how you can be prepared to handle this tricky subject effectively. He will first delve into how international co-productions work and will also outline the way distribution rights and sales are generally handled for these projects. Next David will talk about the relationship between co-producers on a film and how they can best share ownership, including co-producers that are financiers or talent. He will then teach you how to handle revenue management for an international co-production, diving into both domestic and international revenues, sharing revenue amongst co-producers and how financiers and talent are paid. David will explain collection accounts and how they work on international projects. Finally, David will share an in-depth case study of a real international co-production and show the contracts, recoupment schedules and revenue splits to explain how the project came together and how the revenue was ultimately shared. Through this advanced level webinar, David will ensure you can walk into an international co-production knowing how to handle the financing correctly.

Praise for David's Previous Stage 32 Webinars:

"David is incredible and lovely and clearly knows his stuff."

- Cynthia P.

"Eye-opening information. A no-brainer approach that wouldn't be so obvious to the uninitiated."

- Gary O.

"By far, the best class I've seen on the subject."

Kirk K.

"David is a fantastic teacher. And what a voice! I could listen to him all day. More importantly, I learned so very much!"

- Isabella T.