Movie Marketing and Publicity Expert Rob Deacon Sets Up Phoenix Film Finance (EXCLUSIVE)

Movie marketing and publicity specialist Rob Deacon has set up Phoenix Film Finance to leverage his expertise in the industry to make an impact on the independent production scene.

Phoenix will seek to support British independent film production via cash flowing the Independent Film Tax Credit at industry leading “filmmaker friendly” rates, Deacon told Variety.

In this venture, he is working closely with experienced executive producer Ian Davies of the U.K.’s Initialize Films (formerly Noah Media Group and Boudica Film Fund).

Phoenix will also explore cash flowing VAT for independent U.K. productions and select equity and gap financing opportunities. Deacon operates from Edinburgh and London.

Phoenix already has three films on its slate: Carol Morley’s fiction feature film “7 Miles Out,” which she adapted from her critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. The film is produced by Cairo Cannon of Cannon and Morley Productions in association with Revolution Films and will have its world premiere in competition at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.

Also in the slate is Ari Matikainen’s feature documentary “The Game of Chaos,” about opaque forms of warfare. It is produced by Finnish doc specialist Kinocompany, Estonian production company Traumfabriek and Initialize Films, and backed by U.K. film fund Trailblazers, Finnish Film Foundation, Estonian Film Fund and YLE.

Finally, there is sci-fi animation “Pale Pink,” directed by Kuba Mikurda, which is co-produced by U.K.’s Caspian Films and due for theatrical release in 2028.

Deacon said, “The USP of Phoenix Film Finance is to provide industry leading ‘filmmaker friendly’ loan rates. The sweet spot and gap in the market seems to be tax credit loans under £500,000 however there is the rolling capital to do tax credit cash flowing to your average U.K. independent production budgeted at £2 million-£3 million.”

Deacon will be attending the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5 and 6, where he will be taking meetings.

Deacon has worked in the U.K. film industry for more than 25 years, spearheading publicity campaigns on blockbuster and arthouse, theatrical and streaming releases, international top-tier festival campaigns, festival press offices and event media management. Career campaign highlights include “The Artist,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “TAR,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Boiling Point,” “The Reader,” “Babel,” “Jarhead,” “Inherent Vice,” “Little Children,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “I’m Still Here,” “The Filth and the Fury,” “sex&drugs&rock&roll,” “Wolfs,” “The Hobbit” (“Smaug & Five Armies”), “Man of Steel,” “Batman v Superman,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E,” Pixar’s “Turning Red and Brave,” Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron,” and Cannes Film Festival international campaigns for Grand Prix winners “Oldboy” and “Blackkklansman.”

Deacon also ran the London Film Festival’s and Edinburgh Film Festival’s press offices, operational media management for dozens of premieres including the Royal Premiere for “War Horse,” Marvel’s “Avengers Assemble,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” and Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” Written materials included productions notes for “The Damned United” as unit publicist and Warner Bros. generic material commissions included “Fantastic Beasts,” “War Dogs,” “Me Before You,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Arthur,” “Live By Night,” “The Nun,” “The Accountant,” “Geostorm,” “The Lego Batman Movie” and “Sully.”

Deacon also recently served as the interim head of communications at BBC Film from August 2025 to February 2026 during which time BBC Film-backed films received 12 BAFTA nominations, nine Academy Award nominations, nine wins across six films at the BIFAs from an initial haul of 39 nominations, three Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week awards and one Toronto Film Festival award. He managed a fivefold increase of BBC Film Instagram followers during his tenure and oversaw the U.K. theatrical roll outs of the diverse slate including the box-office successes “Pillion,” “Sentimental Value” and “The Choral.” Deacon has also provided his consultant publicity services in the past for U.K. film public bodies the British Film Institute and the British Film Commission.

Davies has a background of producing, financing and packaging documentary and fiction feature films. Previous titles include “The Falling,” starring Florence Pugh and Maisie Williams, and thriller “’71,” starring Jack O’Connell. Whilst at Noah, Davies produced documentaries “I’m Carl Lewis” and “Snow Leopard Sisters,” which both debuted at SXSW in 2025 and “Checkpoint Zoo.”