U.S. Indies Turn to Foreign Public Funds — SkimNews
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- Giancarlo Nasi, Cannes-winning Chilean producer and head of Quijote Films, used his Oct 2 VIFF Industry Masterclass to argue that U.S. independent filmmakers are now actively courting public co-production money from Canada, Mexico, Latin America and European countries because private financing has dried up.
- Nasi declared U.S. independent movie distribution "in crisis," noting that many films from this year's Cannes official competition landed without any North American distribution — a development he said "would be crazy" five or ten years ago — while last year's Directors' Fortnight saw a significant share of titles arrive with no sales agent at all.
- "The Settlers," Felipe Gálvez's 2023 debut period Western produced by Nasi, was officially a three-country co-production but unofficially pulled financing from eight or nine territories — France, Argentina, the UK, Taiwan, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and U.S. equity — and took eight years to finance.
- Co-production spending rules vary sharply by country, per Nasi: Chile imposes no home-spend obligation, France typically wants half the budget spent on French soil, and some German funds demand as much as 150% spend in Germany, a reality he says directly shapes casting, crew and post-production choices.
- Public money is political money, Nasi warned — Brazil and Argentina froze their film-support systems after government changes (he is still waiting on a $500,000 Brazilian award as he enters pre-production), Italy "went quiet" after Giorgia Meloni took office, and while Chile pays reliably, Brazil pays more but unpredictably; some funds also pay in installments tied to production and theatrical release, with the final payment potentially arriving up to two years late and forcing producers into gap financing.
- "The Smell of Apples," Nasi's latest feature — a South African co-production with the Netherlands and Chile — recently premiered at TIFF, illustrating the cross-border financing model he is now urging U.S. independents to adopt.
Why it matters: A historically self-sufficient corner of American filmmaking is now structurally dependent on Chilean, French, German and Canadian public money, exposing U.S. producers to foreign political risk (Brazil froze funds mid-award, Italy went quiet under Meloni) and creative constraints (up to 150% German spend rules, treaty-mandated crew and cast) they never had to navigate before. Nasi's own eight-year, nine-territory odyssey financing "The Settlers" shows both the upside and the cost of the new model.
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