Travis Kelce, the American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is making waves in Hollywood with his debut film. Utilizing the US government's renewable energy tax credits, Kelce is pioneering innovative financing strategies in the indie film sector. His upcoming project, 'My Dead Friend Zoe,' is a war comedy-drama written by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and A. J. Bermudez, starring a remarkable cast including Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, and Utkarsh Ambudkar. Kelce will be serving as an executive producer alongside Paul Scanlan, the co-founder and CEO of Legion M, a fan-owned entertainment company.
What sets Kelce's film apart is its financing method. The investors, including Kelce himself, are the first to take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to finance a film. The budget for 'My Dead Friend Zoe' is reported to be less than $10 million, making it a low-budget production. The Inflation Reduction Act, a part of the President's ambitious climate and energy agenda, allocates $11.7 billion to the Loan Programs Office (LPO). This program provides loans and loan guarantees to support innovative clean energy, advanced transportation, and tribal energy projects in the United States. The film's financing strategy showcases how renewable energy tax credits can boost the indie film sector and contribute to the achievement of the Biden-Harris Administration's climate goals, including a net-zero economy by 2050.
