(Editor’s note: Chad Burris (Chickasaw) is the guest author of this post. He is the founder of the Indion Group of entertainment companies and serves as president of Indion Finance, a lender for state and foreign soft money incentives for film production, and Indion Ventures, which targets, develops and closes economic development transactions around the country, including Indian Country.)
To say Indion is a diverse group of companies is an understatement. Indion began our tax equity investment business in Oklahoma by searching for a new finance model for motion pictures. Originally, this plan was meant to accomplish the combining of several different federal subsidies to make movie production in Indian Country an attractive economic prospect. Congress at the time, however, made some unanticipated decisions (surprise), and we had to adjust our plan to bring movies to Indian Country. From this setback, Indion was created.
We started by examining and experimenting with different models for automobile manufacturing in Indian Country under the Title 25 exemption from excise tax. From that experimentation, the idea of more creative finance models for movie making developed: Utilize federal subsidies for manufacturing in Indian Country. After all, making movies is a type of manufacturing business.
Around 2004, legislation was proposed to create a federal New Market program for Indian Country. Unfortunately, Congress did not pass the legislation, and we were forced to rethink our model. We had the structure, we just needed the program. So back to the drawing board — was there some other program out there that we could use?
It turns out the answer was, happily, yes. Pouring through state statutes, we discovered a seldom-used Oklahoma manufacturing tax credit program created as an economic development incentive in rural areas. We were able to effectively model a structure that gave film businesses in Oklahoma an added incentive for shooting there. We had a lot of success with our new program. Over the years we were active there, Indion helped start a thriving film industry in Oklahoma.
Springboarding from our success with movie financing, we also gained opportunities to work with several non-film related national rural economic development projects. It is because of our expansion into more diverse projects, Indion was introduced to working with New Markets Tax Credits across Indian Country, resulting in our participation in dental facilities, a hotel renovation, medical clinics, and community centers.
From our simple beginnings, Indion has participated in some very good films while proudly supporting several local filmmakers and a few quality Hollywood directors on projects that brought many needed jobs to the states of Oklahoma and New Mexico. While providing financing for movies through tax credits, I also act as producer for many of them. I have produced a number of small but very significant films.
While in Oklahoma, I produced the Sundance-premiered “Four Sheets to the Wind” and “Barking Water” by Seminole writer/director Sterlin Harjo. Sterlin and I are working this spring on his third feature titled “Mekko.” I moved from Oklahoma in 2010 to Santa Fe, NM, and have since made the films “Mosquita y Mari” by Aurora Guerrero, and most recently “Drunktown’s Finest” by Navajo writer/director Sydney Freeland, both of which had their international premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
Indion continues to look for opportunities with Indian Country, to expand and make a difference. Whether through Native film, health care facilities or other business development, a big part of our focus will always remain in Indian Country to do our part to benefit and energize the community.