UK based · New Zealand connected

Project finance & commercial strategy for independent film & television.

Producer side support from development and greenlight through financing, production and the longer life of the project.

Earlier than production accounting.
More embedded than external accountancy.
Independent of the financier.

Get in touch

Rooted locally. Built to travel.

The approach

Good projects get complicated long before the cameras roll.

Heartwood Pictures works alongside independent producers on the financial and commercial questions at all stages, turning creative ambition into a financeable and sustainable production.

From development economics and greenlight decisions through financing, production and project stewardship, the role is not to replace specialists but to connect the financial and commercial pieces, make their advice usable and keep the producer in control as the project gets more complex.

The work

Keep the project coherent as it grows.

Develop & decide

Development economics, greenlight models, budgets, incentive assumptions, finance plans and commercial scenarios.

Finance & structure

Production cashflow, financing routes, co-production structures, partner terms, funding gaps and funding flows.

Keep the project connected

Adviser coordination, reporting, incentive and audit coordination, stakeholder requirements and project / SPV stewardship.

Build the company around it

Slate forecasting, cash runway, management reporting, controls and strategic finance support.

UK / New Zealand

Rooted locally. Built to travel.

Focused on independent UK production, while remaining rooted in supporting New Zealand filmmaking.

For UK producers, that means helping assess NZ funding, incentives and co-production routes where relevant.

For NZ producers, it means making projects financially legible for UK and international finance, partners and co-production conversations.

Get in touch

Have something interesting?

If you have a script, early budget, finance plan or a project that is beginning to take shape, feel free to get in touch.

Heartwood is most useful before the financing structure is fixed, but can step in at any stage as the financial and commercial complexity of the project starts to grow.

Sam Retter · LinkedIn ↗