Positivity was the guiding principle of this morning’s industry keynote at the Locarno Film Festival , but you wouldn’t have guessed that listening to the discussion that ensued. “The bullseye for success has become much smaller,” Katie Ellen, Head of Production at HanWay Films began in her assessment of the keynote’s central topic, the current difficulties in financing independent films. Ellen was joined on the panel by WME Independent co-head Alex Walton and Romanian producer Ada Solomon of Hi Film Productions & microFILM.
Solomon’s credits include Toni Erdmann and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn . “You have to be able to demonstrate creative excellence and that there’s a possibility that a film will break out and audiences will be interested,” Ellen continued. “I don’t think there’s still the luxury of making films that aren’t quite good enough and don’t have any audience.
” She added: “Getting films off the ground that are 6/10, which was maybe possible before, aren’t anymore. And I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.” According to Ellen, the crux of this change in the ecosystem is that “production budgets have gone up and there’s not enough money or value to cover that.
” As a result, much of the work on a production “is about trying to work around how you can overcome that situation.” This often falls, she said, to the “ingenuity” of experienced producers. In contrast, WME’s Walton argued that juggling a complex and often precarious balance sheet has always been inherent to producing in the indie space.
“Ultimately the independent film sector is all about risk,” he said. “One of the reasons we’re drawn to it is that it’s all about originality, working with groundbreaking stories from groundbreaking filmmakers. And there will always come a time when the gatekeeper’s financing has to take on some risk.
” The one plus side, however, is that there are now many more different ways “to get films financed and made,” Ellen said. “That’s through public funds, tax incentives, and broadcasters, and there’s lots of equity still floating around.” Walton added that there are equally “more platforms for distribution than there were before” with streamers and content companies acquiring projects.
The global picture was much more dire for Solomon, who is best known for her collaborations with staunchly independent filmmakers who reside in the arthouse world like Radu Jude and Calin Peter Netzer. Solomon said that institutions that finance films have made it clear to her that they are now mostly interested in “audience-rich’ films.” “That is just a nice way to say ‘We are looking for direct profit’,” she said.
“For the type of product I am creating this is the end. Because we need to explore and experiment. We need to continue to have the right balance between the content and the formula.
The direct profit that comes with money and the spiritual profit that comes with a good life and progress of human nature.” Solomon — who, across her career, has won Berlin’s Golden Bear and multiple Romania Academy awards — added that critical acclaim also now rarely helps smoothen the production and distribution process. “International recognition for your film will give you a key, but it doesn’t open the door,” she said.
“You still have to use that key and open the right door with it.” The one thing all three agreed on, however, is that the independent sector needs “fresh blood,” as Solomon described it at one point during the keynote. “It’s about change.
But for new perspectives to come in, old ones need to leave,” Ellen said. “And that’s the real challenge because there’s fear in this industry where there’s not a lot of job security. It’s very well championing these things but things have to change.
” Walton added: “When I started there were loads of young trailblazers. You don’t see much of that now. We’ve got to encourage that.
We need to see a change of the guard.” The Locarno Film Festival runs from August 7 – 17..
