The European Film Market (EFM) has hosted a session titled “Financing at Scale”, in which Timo Argillander, executive chairman and co-founder of IPR.VC, offered a rare deep dive into how one of Europe’s largest independent film & TV investment funds operates. The fireside chat was moderated by Carl Clifton, president of Hyde Park International.

Argillander began by outlining IPR.VC’s evolution since its founding in 2014, from financing individual projects to adopting a slate-based, portfolio-driven investment model. Having raised over €200 million across three funds, IPR.VC typically invests between 10% and 50% of a project’s budget as equity. “Our most important task is not to judge individual projects in isolation,” Argillander explained, “but to find the right collaboration partners and build slates with them.”

Rather than backing single films on a case-by-case basis, IPR.VC works with a small number of trusted international production and sales companies – namely, A24, XYZ, mk2 and Red Bull studios, while a fifth partner will be announced soon – financing all projects that fit pre-agreed criteria within each slate. This, Argillander noted, mitigates exposure to the inherent uncertainty of individual titles. “If someone asks me whether a single film will be profitable, I have no idea,” he admitted. “But we know that the people we work with have, on average, made films profitably over time.”

A recurring theme in the conversation was risk, which Argillander reframed as both inevitable and necessary. IPR.VC avoids what he termed “uncompensated risks”, such as production or counterparty risks, through due diligence and insurance, while embracing performance risk as the core driver of upside. “The equity part is interesting and exciting for us,” he said. “That’s where better returns can come from, but only if you have a portfolio.”

Discussing specific examples, Argillander contrasted small-scale documentary investments with large studio-style productions. He cited Skywalkers: A Love Story as a case where a modest production budget and a strong festival sale validated the portfolio approach, while also touching on the substantially higher-stakes financing of Marty Supreme, one of IPR.VC’s biggest successes to date. Trust, he stressed, was the common denominator: “Some things you cannot put into an agreement. You trust that the money will be on the screen.”

Argillander also detailed how IPR.VC assesses partners, rather than projects, underscoring that financing is ultimately a people business. Drawing on his background as a strategic advisor, he highlighted the importance of reputation and long-term collaboration. “You need to know whether the people you work with have done this before, whether they know what they’re doing, and whether you share a vision of where the industry is going,” he said, adding that IPR.VC’s role is not to provide “dumb money”, but rather to support partners whose growth it can meaningfully accelerate.

A significant part of the discussion focused on IPR.VC’s European footprint. Backed in part by the European Investment Fund (see the news), the company operates under commercial terms while adhering to a European production quota. According to Argillander, around 30% of the fund’s capital has so far been deployed in European projects, a share he expects to increase. Rising US production costs, competitive European tax incentives and what he described as “unused opportunities to tell European stories” were cited as key factors. “Europe offers diversification in currencies, incentives and storytelling traditions,” he noted.

Beyond geography, Argillander underlined IPR.VC’s emphasis on intellectual property retention, particularly for European producers. “Investment is about accumulating IP, not giving it away,” he said, arguing that long-term sustainability lies beyond the traditional production-fee model. While acknowledging structural challenges in the market, he suggested that exposure to equity-driven thinking could gradually shift how producers approach financing and growth.

Looking ahead, Argillander introduced IPR.VC’s research-driven IPR Lab, which explores emerging consumption patterns and so-called “next-generation content”. While reaffirming the company’s commitment to film and premium TV, he pointed to future growth in alternative distribution models, audience engagement strategies and IP exploitation beyond the screen. “Film will continue,” he concluded, “but it will exist alongside new forms, new platforms and new ways of building value.”

Closing the session with advice to producers, Argillander encouraged a shift in how projects are pitched to financiers. Rather than focusing on budget gaps, he urged producers to articulate opportunity, audience relevance and risk-sharing. “A hole in the budget is not a pitch,” he said. “What matters is why this project is worth taking the risk – and how we get there together.”