New York fund says it will spend $500 million in Malta film production

A New York-based film funding company has secured a $500 million deal that will finance films produced in Malta, the company has announced.

DCR Finance Corp, whose office is housed in the Trump Building on Wall Street, said it had brought together a consortium of studios and production companies to commit the money towards films and TV projects shot or finished in Malta.

DCR’s team includes the NY-based financier Adi Cohen and acclaimed producer Mark Damon. The finance company said the deal, with a host of Italian companies, was enabled by the generous Maltese film tax rebate, which returns 40% of budget spent in Malta as a cash rebate.

The consortium is headed by Augusto Pelliccia of Augustus Studios, which is about to expend their network of facilities and open operations in Malta on top of the existing one in Rome, London, Madrid and Morocco.

Pellicia, who is also president of CABA Production in Malta, said: “DCR and CABA will use a new production system where post is embedded in production. The system moves post services into production, cutting cost and time, radically… Thanks to this agreement, the tax rebate, the strategic position of the island, the diversity of locations it presents and most of all, the excellent production infrastructure of Malta, we can contribute in creating value and growth for Malta.”

Adi Cohen said it was a great opportunity for DCR to expand its vision in film financing. “DCR’s intention is to grow and provide a constant solution to filmmakers in completing their films and obtain distribution and sales… This deal continues DCR’s strategy in finding new and original ways to finance films through joint ventures like the important one DCR has in the state of Georgia with Go Media’s Len Gibson and Wayne Overstreet.”