Los Angeles County is developing a new fund to keep independent film productions from leaving the region, while the Edinburgh Film Festival is expanding its industry program to strengthen support for UK filmmakers and emerging talent.
The Los Angeles proposal, reported by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, comes as declining production activity and rising costs make it increasingly difficult for low-budget filmmakers to shoot in California. Meanwhile, Edinburgh is taking a broader approach, combining industry programming, talent development and direct production support.
L.A. Plans to Keep Indie Films at Home
Independent filmmaker Sylvia Ray reportedly always planned to shoot her debut feature, The Middle, in California. The story is set in Barstow, the small town where she grew up. Instead, production moved to Mexico, where local grants from Torreón and Coahuila covered roughly one-third to nearly half of her sub-$1 million budget. The funding also helped the production avoid costs associated with permits, security and hotels. Over three weeks, Ray’s production hired 75 local crew members and college students.
“I could have definitely shot it in L.A. comfortably. Had I gotten more support and made it make sense for us financially. But it just didn’t,” Ray said.
Ray’s experience highlights a gap in California’s current film incentives. The state’s film tax credit does not cover productions with budgets below $1 million, leaving many low-budget indie films outside the system.
Los Angeles County supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger are now working on an Entertainment Evergreen Fund, first introduced last July, designed to support productions that existing incentives were not built to reach.
The decline in local production has added urgency to the proposal. Feature-film shoot days across the region fell 20% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to FilmLA. TV shoot days fell 30%. Producer Steven Wolfe, whose credits include (500) Days of Summer, said financing has become harder to secure even as audiences continue to show interest in independent films. He is developing a passion project with a first-time director that depends on the proposed fund coming through.
Grants Could Target Films Too Small for Tax Credits
The Entertainment Evergreen Fund is being developed with guidance from the Indie Film Task Force, a coalition convened by NewFilmmakers Los Angeles. The group has advocated for direct grants rather than tax credits, arguing that very small productions often generate too little tax liability for a credit to provide meaningful support.
NFMLA Executive Director Larry Laboe has described the proposed fund as a foundational investment in the local industry. He has pointed to Curry Barker’s Obsession as an example of the potential impact. Made in Los Angeles for $750,000, the low-budget horror film has since grossed nearly $475 million worldwide.
Barger has said discussions with filmmakers, labor representatives and production companies have identified several ways an Evergreen Fund could strengthen the local industry, including incentives to attract productions of all sizes to Los Angeles County.
Edinburgh Expands Its Indie Film Push
In the UK, the Edinburgh Film Festival is taking a different approach to supporting independent filmmaking. The festival has relaunched its industry program with a new one-day UK Film Conference, scheduled for August 15. Festival director Paul Ridd said the initiative grew from the increasing attention being drawn to the festival’s competition slate.
BFI chief executive Ben Roberts will deliver the opening keynote, followed by a conversation with Picturehouse’s Clare Binns. The program will then turn to the realities of independent production with a panel titled “Low Budget, High Ambition.”
Another session, “Would This Get Made?”, will ask industry executives whether films such as Trainspotting and Four Weddings and a Funeral could secure financing under today’s market conditions. Producer Christine Vachon will join executives from Film4, BBC Film, Altitude and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates for the discussion.
The festival is also continuing its NFTS Sean Connery Talent Lab, pairing 25 emerging filmmakers with BBC Film backing and a £25,000 production budget per project. Six resulting shorts will screen at this year’s festival. Additional sessions will explore colonialism and cinema, the business of independent filmmaking, and early-career development.
Beyond the industry program, Edinburgh will host career-spanning conversations with Ewan McGregor, Bruce Dern and Ken Burns. Kenneth Branagh will receive the festival’s first Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award. The Edinburgh Film Festival will run from August 13 through 19.
