A London firm is presenting valuable film projects backed by Oscar and BAFTA award-winning talent as investment options.

Highly-qualified productions are picked by GoViddo based on subject matter, the talent involved and the track record of the sales agent in generating good returns.

Investors come into the picture during the private equity stage of film funding.

Pratik Shelar, GoViddo founder and CEO, said: “We connect retail investors, who have access to as little as £1,000, to mainstream British film backed by reputable talent with secured distribution deals. With our expertise and experience, we are vetting only those projects where we see value for the investors.

“Monthly, we receive 30 to 50 project requests but so far we have chosen only six projects. One project is being backed by a former Disney executive and was totally funded through our platform. The investor of the project is now anticipating 10 times return on investment.”

GoViddo, a free-to-use platform, does not charge film producers or investors upfront.

Pratik said: “We take fees from film producers upon successful investments and share in the profit from film investors. This is not a crowdfunding platform but a film investment one. Any retail investor can consider the film investment option as an alternative to other traditional forms of investments such as bonds/stocks/crypto/ISA/real estate.”

So far the platform has worked on the following projects:

• Mrs Churchill’s War – This movie is based on the life of the wife of Winston Churchill and is being directed by a two-time Oscar nominee and director of an Oscar-winning movie.
• The Liar – A laugh-out-loud comedy based on Stephen Fry’s semi-autobiographical novel backed by a stellar all-star A list cast.
• The Warrior Poets – A documentary about the pioneers of the hip hop movement which focuses on Black Lives Matter and is backed by a BAFTA-nominated producer.

Despite the Covid pandemic providing plenty of challenges, Pratik believes the industry is still in good shape.

He said: “Unlike other industries, the film business has not slowed down because the demand for content for streaming platforms has increased as Netflix has run out of the slate of productions which were produced until 2019 for its platform. Cinemas too will need content so many projects have been in production with Covid protocols. One, which was funded on our platform, has now been finished.”

GoViddo has also begun production on the first of its own films. The Entrepreneur is a journey of self-discovery based on Pratik’s own story and how he started the venture.

The platform donates 2% of its annual revenue to the charity Sangita Foundation which works in the space of education in India.