Lights, camera, action! Sparke Helmore's film finance practice
08-April-2021
Sparke Helmore is regarded as one of the leading film finance law firms in Australia. We primarily represent offshore financiers providing cash flow funding against the Commonwealth Government Offset regime as well as distribution and gap funding.
The Offset regime, comprising:
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The Producer Offset
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The Location Offset and Location Incentive Grant, and
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PDV Offset
will undergo some changes with effect from 1 July 2021, at least in the case of the Producer Offset.
The so-called State Agencies such as Create NSW, Film Victoria and Screen Queensland and the Commonwealth Governments Screen Australia, also provide direct grants and indirect assistance such as payroll tax benefits. These all form part of the mix of funding options for film makers and their financiers.
We regularly work with US counsel both external and internal on documentation, including on co-productions.
Sparke Helmore has a very strong employment law and copyright practice, which is vital to providing legal services on the production side and complementing our film finance capability. We understand all aspects of the production cycle including:
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Cast & crew contracting
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Chain of title
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Director and writer agreements, and
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Domestic and internationals sales and distribution.
We have represented US-based banks involved in productions such as ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, ‘Blacklight’, ‘Angel of Mine’ as well as TV series such as ‘Halifax Retribution’, ‘Pine Gap’ and children’s series such as ‘Beat Bugs’ and ‘Motown’.
