FilmChain is the first automated collection service that collects, allocates and analyses revenues for film, TV and digital content in a transparent and efficient manner. The company’s HQ is located in London and we work globally.

FilmChain is used by international film producers, sales agents, distributors, film funds, investors, cast, crew, and post production houses. The service caters to content productions of all genres and budgets. Our clients include some of the biggest public funding bodies in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America.

If you’re not sure whether FilmChain is for you, send us an email at team@filmchain.co and we can think about it together.

In a nutshell, FilmChain is the first collection service to use the blockchain technology to provide payment automation, lower the costs of film revenue collection and distribution and to significantly speed up the money flow end-to-end. The technology enables us to provide real-time reports and information on-demand. We use blockchain as a security layer and there are no cryptocurrencies involved.

The FilmChain team has a strong background in the film & tech industries. Our first-hand experience in creating CAMAs and working with filmmakers taught us two things. First, digital industries are thriving with exciting content creation and increased consumption. Second, there is little to no infrastructure and a huge lack of transparency in the industry practices. Blockchain works in such a way that is able to manage the increased volume of content and the “need for speed” when it comes to payments through a glass wall: all signatories are in the know about what’s happening with the film they worked on

FilmChain uses Ethereum Blockchain as a security layer. It’s the perfect fit for our type of business where we don’t operate with cryptocurrency but with pounds, dollars and euros. The private blockchain ensures financial privacy for all the stakeholders involved in a film’s production whilst still delivering automation, transparency and instant payouts. We developed our solution in partnership with Imperial College London and Creative Destruction Lab accelerator in Toronto.

No, FilmChain does not work with cryptocurrencies. FilmChain partners with banks and payment service providers and works in pounds, euros and dollars.

There is a clear distinction between crypto and the underlying blockchain technology and the latter has been used independently by big companies and startups alike right from the start.

Ideally, before the first day of production. That means the producer gets in touch with us in pre-production so we can set everything & everyone up on the platform before the shoot begins. It’s best we align all the investors before they have signed off the financing plan and make their investments to make sure the recoupment schedule is clear to everyone. From that moment on, the process runs very smoothly (find out more about that below).

That being said, we onboard films at any stage of production and we deal with the payments for the crew and all other beneficiaries (sales, producers, investors) in perpetuity.

All inquiries should be sent to team@filmchain.co. We pride ourselves that our service is anything but basic so we’ll want to find out about the specific needs for your project, distribution plans, number of beneficiaries and any other so we’ll want to find information at the time of our conversation and that should be included in the Collection Account Management Agreement (CAMA).

After agreeing to the Terms of Service, our legal team drafts the legal contract considering all the clauses in the agreements with the beneficiaries involved in the film. The contract will then be translated into a personalised dashboard on the FilmChain platform.

We open an individual bank account for every film on FilmChain.

Sales agents and producers are able to verify the incoming gross receipts and the payment split in real time. Signatory parties access reports instantly. Every beneficiary (we don’t shy away from complex waterfalls and large numbers of beneficiaries) has their own wallet and is able to withdraw their funds for no extra costs. On top of this, we are enabling a rights management tracker to keep on top of the collection sources exploiting the film. We also offer insights, statistics and predictions about the performance of the film in various territories.

The producer has to share the recoupment schedule agreed by all signatory parties and in all territories with us as a CAM provider in order to onboard the project in the first place on the FilmChain platform. They also will also need to collect the beneficiaries’ details and share them with us so that we can set up on the platform. If there is a sales agent attached to the project, we’d love to be connected to map out the expected distribution deals.

It takes roughly a week to onboard a film on the FilmChain platform from the moment the CAMA is signed by all parties. The time before signing the CAMA can vary considerably depending on how fast the Terms of Service are agreed upon and on how long it takes to collect all signatures.

Yes. We are fully aware that a film is subject to last-minute changes and we are equipped to alter the CAMA after onboarding the film. For amendments to the recoupment, we will generate a new CAMA and collect signatures. That being said, the clearer everything is from the beginning, the smoother the process for all beneficiaries involved.

We have no limit on the number of beneficiaries in the CAMA who access the platform and who we make payments to. We don’t charge any extra fees for adding additional beneficiaries.

Our fees are competitive and in line with the market offering. We charge a % fee of the film’s revenue and an onboarding fee per project, which covers the legal, management and technical resources needed in the process. We will set up a bank account for the film.

The onboarding fee is driven by the complexities of the recoupment schedule and how many resources are required on our end to onboard the film on the platform. We send project-based quotes.

We don’t charge transaction fees per beneficiary and we don’t charge for interim reports. There are banking fees for foreign currency exchanges and transactions which are specific to every partner bank. Other fees may occur in case of an audit and if legal support is necessary after the CAMA has been signed.

Each beneficiary receives a unique, secure login. Once logged in, the user can access information about the film, withdraw funds from their wallet, track the revenue collection sources and get insights, statistics and predictions about the performance of the film in various territories.

We can provide a digital tour of the platform and showcase all of the FilmChain platform features in depth.

Once the film’s bank account is set up and the CAMA is in place, the allocation of payments is done automatically according to the beneficiaries’ agreements. This automatic allocation occurs shortly after a new stream of revenues reaches the film’s bank account.

The beneficiary can see the amount on their personal wallets on the dashboard and can withdraw the money straight into their bank account. We don’t charge for withdrawals.

An account manager will be dedicated for every film to deal with questions or requests. General inquiries should be sent to team@filmchain.co.

Yes. After signing the Terms of Service, we begin collaboration based on a standard CAM agreement. All pre-existent agreements made on the film are revised by our lawyer to make sure that information is aligned and then consolidated into a CAMA ahead of onboarding the film on the platform. The waterfall instructions are included in the hard copy agreement alongside all the beneficiary details.

We work with Hannah Leader, as a lead legal counsel, who has 35 years of experience in the industry and is BFI-approved.

Signatories are notified and they have a number of days (2 to 5 working days) to verify the payment split on the platform, claim a dispute and notify FilmChain if there are questions. If there are no claims over the course of 2 to 5 working days, the amounts are allocated to each beneficiary’s wallet on the platform and the payments can be requested for withdrawal. All of the financial information is updated in real-time on the platform, and the reports can be downloaded accordingly.

If a payment discrepancy occurs and FilmChain is notified, pending all signatories’ approval we will implement the adjustment when calculating the next dispersal of gross receipts.

Our legal tax advisers have considered withholding tax in accordance with the OECD Model Tax Convention 2017 and the report from the Committee on Fiscal Affairs entitled “Double Taxation Conventions and the Use of Conduit Arrangements” and consider the beneficial owner of the collected receipts to be the producer. The same producer is responsible for deducting withholding tax on payments to each beneficiary.

Since FilmChain typically makes payments to more beneficiaries than the typical CAM, we have structured an automated solution whereby the producer can seek to receive and approve invoices from other beneficiaries for the relevant amounts through the platform.