Canada: The New Indie Co-Production Partner of Choice?
Despite the many frustrations of the flux US filmmaking currently finds itself in, the independent production circuit is holding up strong, with foreign partners now becoming the go-to way to get media made. Brandon Blake, check the entertainment lawyer Los Angeles with Blake & Wang P.A., looks at how co-productions are now helping to scale and expand productions’ reach globally, with Canada leading the way. Brandon Blake Canadian Filmmaking Expansion Under official local co-production rules, Canadian filmmakers cannot spend more than 25% of their total budgets abroad, meaning that they often need to find foreign partners for additional financing boosts. However, this model can introduce its own complexities along the way, not least of which is the coordination needed to make it work. Co-productions allow a little more flexibility, especially to look for cheaper areas to shoot without skirting the rules (too much). It can also offer the “scaffolding” needed to open up new te...