CREO Films Closes $4.5M Co-Production Deal for Salt & Gold
By CREO Films Press
CREO Films announced on June 14th the successful close of a $4.5 million co-production financing package for Salt & Gold, the geopolitical action thriller from director Fatima A. set in post-conflict Libya. The deal was structured as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under CREO Films' film finance framework, drawing capital from three institutional co-investors alongside CREO Films' anchor commitment. The identity of co-investors remains confidential at this stage, pending regulatory filings in the relevant jurisdictions.
Salt & Gold follows Dr. Sasha Diallo, a Malian-American geologist working for a UN environmental survey who discovers an untapped oil reserve beneath a protected desert basin. The project first surfaced on the CREO Films submission platform in November 2025 and was fast-tracked by the CREO council after a script read in December received the highest scoring in the council's history for an action-genre submission. Director Fatima A., speaking from her base in Tunis, said the financing close marks "the end of a three-year search and the beginning of the actual work."
Principal photography is scheduled to begin on September 3rd, 2026, with location shoots planned across Libya's Fezzan region, Malta, and Washington D.C. The production has secured cooperation from local Libyan production partners and is working with the UN Development Programme on on-the-ground logistics coordination. A cast announcement is expected in late July, with several major international names confirmed to be in final negotiations for key roles.
From a financial structure standpoint, the deal represents the largest single CREO Films pipeline investment to date and demonstrates the viability of the SPV model CREO Films developed over the past two years. CREO Films' Head of Film Finance noted that the structure protects investor capital through recoupment waterfalls linked to distribution milestones, with territorial pre-sales already in negotiation with two major streaming platforms. Full distribution terms are expected to be announced alongside the cast reveal.
