Filmaker/ Esther Robinson, Spring 2009

Over the last decade the credit card has starred in most of the creation myths of our industry. The gods of credit came down and handed us tablets of plastic and lo and beholda film was born. Sure, hard work and years of sweat and swear words played a part too, but that mighty card made it possible to pull art out of thin air. And it was like magic — when you needed credit, it appeared. A lot of films got made, but so did a lot of debt.

In fact most Americans are swimming in debt. And recently, we’ve gone from swimming to swamped. Too many folks have too much debt. And with many banks on the verge of collapse and our country reeling from the risk posed by rampant credit use, credit will soon be a lot harder to get. Why does this matter to filmmakers? Because your access to credit maybe dramatically curtailed in the coming year, EVEN if you have good credit. And realistically without credit, your film might not get made.

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