Hello!
My name is Sarah Sharp, and I'm an entrepreneur and experienced film producer married to a Cinematographer. And we just uprooted our lives to relocate to Champaign, IL because there is so much potential here - and the people are hungry for it.
We are developing the film industry and studio stages in downstate Illinois, which currently hosts a successful non-capped 30%+ entertainment incentive program. To date, Illinois holds one of the top 4 best film incentives in the nation. The industry here has been booming for the last several years and with the increase of this incentive last July, it is predicted to explode further going into 2024.
The entertainment market is moving into a less urban look and is looking for more rural and "anywhere" looking backdrops for projects. Additionally, cast and crew are removing themselves from the typical "filming" communities and planting roots in areas of the world the inspire their whole lives.
All the while, let's tell some good stories and return entertainment back to being good entertainment, for God's glory and inspiration.
We have partnered with an experienced distributor to help us create good content with guaranteed sales, all while training the local workforce.
We have teamed up with a local municipality who is putting soft money towards matching a grant we have qualified for that allows us to fully redevelop an Airforce base into a film stage outside of Champaign, Illinois and create a additional industry option for workers in this area. Additionally we've been working with the Illinois State film office on creating workshops and training programs to train and open the eyes of individuals in the southern Illinois regions to the option of entertainment being a field they could pursue that is coming to their backyard.
Additionally I have been selling multiple independent projects over the last several years, I've seen where the market is leaning more towards content that is not quite as urban, but more good storytelling without such heavy social agendas - which will further pull Studios and Independent producers into less urban areas to make their projects.
Champaign County and the neighboring counties are very excited at the development of the industry here and I have been bringing several smaller independent projects to the area to create for-profit workshops to involve local workforce, introduce this industry concept, and start transforming the local economy.
One "low budget" (sub $1M) film can easily equate to $500k in additional local revenue, and hires in the range of 35-55 people.
A typical "low budget" slate can include 3-10 films over a 36 month period. We are actively negotiating a 11 film slate with films in the $2-5M range, pending the growth of our workforce development.
We are looking for funding and investment on a few different projects, including gap loaning tax incentive and state grants to allow us to go ahead and start working on the physical needs needed to draw projects here to start creating revenue and Industry. This financing option is between $500k to 2.2M as we qualified for a 2.5 million dollar state grant.
Additionally we're looking for financing to complete two for-profit projects with investments ranging from $150k to $650k. We have teamed up with a very committed distributor Nicely TV to produce content at a budget that will profit within 30 months of release. These are family friendly content with minimal language and fun action pack story lines that the entire family or the adults could enjoy. Investment also includes Executive Producer credit - as your involvement makes you apart of the crew and of something bigger.
Projections, waterfalls, and contracts are available upon request. All films qualify for section 181.
I'm very committed to the development of the industry here in downstate Illinois. God is open several doors for us and we believe this time and availability are part of a incredible huge plan. I would love to discuss your potential involvement and see if our strategy is something you would be interested in partnering on or advising a better route.
Thank you for your time,
Sarah Sharp
[email protected]www.meetthelinefilmco.com