Top executives discuss what investors want to finance projects

For the first time at the Zurich Summit, a number of investors joined a panel to share what they look for when financing films. AC Independent boss Nick Shumaker, producer Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich, Tango Entertainment director Lia Buman and Sovereign Media Capital CEO Andreas Roald all met for a long roundtable discussion to evaluate investments and figure out what an ideal ROI would be for them looks.

Shumaker told delegates that Anonymous Content “has historically focused heavily on director-driven content over the last twenty years, with directors and producers in the past to try to find investments that have helped.”

“We do the same thing on the nonfiction side, and that market has changed significantly in the last three years. On the narrative side, our focus has been primarily on European co-productions and working with our partners in Europe to find ways to work with them to bring more money to the screen.”

Producer Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich spoke about her entry into the film industry. The Swiss native founded the Robmar Foundation to pursue her interest in philanthropy, and it was while working for a charity that supports work on training animals to help people with disabilities that she inspired her first production Gigi & Natewhich she executive produced.

“I knew absolutely nothing about the film business,” she told delegates. “It was around 2014 and I was looking for someone to make this film. I had the idea and thought we needed a few cameras, a few people, a few actors, and then I’m done. But I discovered that it is a completely different business.

After meeting Nick Hamm at a dinner, she recalled telling the director about her idea, saying, “Nick looked at me and I think if he could have killed me with his eyes right now, he would have “Done it, he probably thought it was me, another woman who thought she knew the movie business.”

Ultimately, Hamm would lead this project Gigi & Nate. Hamm is also in Zurich to promote his latest collaboration with Jaeger-Firmenich. William Tellan epic story of the Swiss folk hero with actors such as Claes Bang, Ben Kingsley, Emily Beecham and others.

As for goals for return on investment, Shumaker said, “I don’t want to be flippant, but the first goal is not to lose money so you can then continue investing.” It’s not that deep, but it’s a tricky process. We get involved in projects pretty much at any point, from pre-production to post-production, where a little bit of capital was needed before the film premiered about two or three months before.”

Shumaker continued that “the standard is 20 to 25% – that’s what our financial models are based on.”

“I look at it as three different ways to get ROI, and one of them is not losing the money and making something so you can keep going,” said Lia Buman of Tango Entertainment, who has worked on projects like Aftersun And His three daughters. “But the first one is really just about people. It has to be a positive experience that the film you release is the film you wanted to make. Part of the joy of independent filmmaking is how hard it is and how much you enjoy being in the trenches with the people you respect.”

Buman added that for their ROI “we tend to aim for a little over 20% because of the cost of money… and how intense it is to put money into a film that can take two or more years to get the money back – “You really have to think about it.”

She continued: “The third ROI for me is how well it resonates with audiences… that’s what film means to me – connectivity.”