Yahoo News U.K. Producers Launch Indie Financing Fund Heatseeker Media (Exclusive)
U.K. producers Evan Leighton-Davis and Ben Bond have launched a new financing fund, Heatseeker Media, a rolling finance facility to provide funding for independent film and TV producers.
Rare for these sorts of indie financing facilities, the London-based fund will provide development funding for producers, initially in the $100,000 to $1 million range for individual projects. Backing for the fund will come from a suite of private investors, mainly high-net-worth individuals, in the U.K., Europe and the U.S..
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The first group of films to benefit from the fund include Romola Garai’s Monstrous Beauty, a period drama featuring The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey, which was a hot pre-sale title at the Cannes and AFM markets last year; the horror film The Severed Sun from director Dean Puckett starring Emma Appleton of The Witcher; and Ita Fitzgerald’s Irish drama West the Road featuring Imelda Staunton. The Severed Sun, which wrapped in July, is currently in post and will be the first of the three projects to deliver.
Matthew James Wilkinson is producing both Monstrous Beauty and West the Road and a goal of Heatseeker is to help bankroll the development of full slates from up-and-coming indie producers.
“Development money — and by extension the time and space it affords writers, directors and producers to develop properly — is the lifeblood of the industry,” says Leighton-Davis. “Without it, promising projects stall, producers come under pressure to rush material into production, and the whole process stagnates. Through Heatseeker we’re delighted to be able to support independent producers through development and help them keep projects rolling.”
Heatseeker says it plans to invest in six to 10 film and TV producers per year, with a particular focus on genre material as well as dramas with the “x-factor,” according to Leighton-Davis.
“Heatseeker is born out of our driving passion to bring a diverse slate of the best stories to the screen,” says Bond. “As filmmakers ourselves, we understand the process, and how vital cash-flow is for independent producers. We aim to be true collaborators and provide the right level of finance, at the right price, at the right time.”
Leighton-Davis’ credits include as an executive producer on Marley Morrison’s 2021 feature Sweetheart and on 2019’s The Drifters, which Bond wrote and directed. He is also known for his industry consultancy group Industrial Scripts, which provide script coverage to clients worldwide.
Bond, who has also written for Brit series Skins and Delta Forever, is currently in pre-production on his sophomore directorial effort, the dramedy Big Man.
Bond is represented by Rowena Wallace at Peach House and Leighton-Davis by Jonny Jones at United Agents.
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