On April 15, 2026, Elevate Production Finance (EPF) and Privata Capital announced a new joint media finance fund — one built specifically to expand lending capacity for independent film and TV productions worldwide. The timing is pointed. Flexible capital for indie filmmakers has become increasingly scarce, and the structural gaps in how independent projects get financed have been a growing conversation across the industry. For filmmakers like Jeffrey Ikahn — who operates as both director and producer on Candy Flip — this kind of development isn’t background noise. It’s directly relevant to how independent projects get off the ground.
Who the Fund Is For
EPF CEO Charles Auty made the fund’s purpose clear from the start. The goal is capital for projects of all sizes, from boutique indie films to large-scale international co-productions. Crucially, Auty framed it not just as more capital, but the right kind — more agile and more flexible than what traditional banking institutions have historically offered independent producers.
Privata Capital, led by managing director Victor Siciliano, will focus specifically on Australian productions under the arrangement. But the fund’s reach is broader than one market. EPF maintains offices in both the UK and Melbourne, with an international lending footprint that reflects where independent film is actually being made today.
Wider Impact for Indie Film
Commercial banks have been pulling back from entertainment lending for several years. That retreat has left a real gap in the indie financing ecosystem — one that private capital is now stepping in to fill. This fund is part of that shift.
This fund directly addresses a structural problem the industry has been talking about all year. A March 2026 IndieWire piece argued that traditional indie financing was built to fail producers — capital arriving too late, on rigid terms, with no real alignment to filmmaker needs. EPF and Privata are building exactly the opposite.
Access to adaptable financing earlier in the production process doesn’t just make individual projects easier — it shifts which projects get made at all. Jeffrey Ikahn’s work on Candy Flip sits squarely in this context. Building an ambitious independent film with a cast that spans social media talent and established entertainment names requires exactly the kind of nimble financial infrastructure this fund is designed to provide.
The Companies Behind the Fund
EPF is not a new player making first-time promises. Founded in 2017, the company has extended over AUD$346 million in loans to date, generating over AUD$600 million in production spending. Their slate includes Ron Howard’s Eden, George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, and Better Man — films that range from mid-budget prestige to major international productions.
Auty himself brings credibility, having spent over a decade at Ingenious Media, including five years as managing director of a $500 million independent film fund. His career has been built inside the exact financing structures that indie producers struggle against. He knows where the problems are. That background shapes why the stated purpose of this fund — agility, flexibility, filmmaker access — reads as deliberate rather than just promotional language.
The Bottom Line
The indie film financing gap has been documented thoroughly. What’s been harder to find is concrete action. This fund is a step in that direction — not a fix for every structural problem in independent cinema, but a signal that the capital side of the industry is beginning to move.
The creative talent and stories are already there. The question has always been whether the financing infrastructure can keep pace. If more moves like this follow in 2026, the answer may finally be yes.
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