What Makes Your Film Bankable With Melanie Krinsky

Filmmakers and producers are driven by a vision—a compelling story, bold idea, and belief that their project will resonate. But when it comes to financing, banks and investors are focused on something else entirely: the numbers. In this episode of Inside Indies, John Cooke sits down with Melanie Krinsky, Senior Managing Director & Head of the Entertainment Media Group at Western Alliance Bank, to discuss what it takes to secure funding for an independent film. With over three decades of experience in entertainment finance, Melanie shares insights on how banks evaluate projects, why pre-sales and tax incentives are more important than a great script, and what producers need in place before approaching a lender.  Key insights from this episode: How to make your film more appealing to lenders and investors The role of tax incentives and pre-sales in financing your film How a federal tax incentive could reshape the U.S. film industry Chapters: (00:00) Meet Melanie Krinsky (04:06) How film financing has evolved (09:19) Starting the media group at Western Alliance (15:07) The power of production financing (16:54) Avoid these mistakes with tax credits (25:50) The case for a federal tax incentive (29:42) What lenders look for when approving loans  Learn more on https://castandcrew.com/  Contact us at http://info.mediaservices.com/inside-indies  Follow us on our socials: Facebook: https://facebook.com/CastCrew Instagram: https://instagram.com/castandcrewllc/ LinkedIn: https:/linkedin.com/company/castcrew/ X: https://x.com/CastAndCrewNews