CineCity Studios and Polymath Research Inc. are exploring a film investment platform that would pair the Chicago studio’s production resources with technology to issue and manage digital securities.
The collaboration would combine Toronto-based Polymath’s digital securities infrastructure with CineCity’s film production ecosystem to explore a tokenized investment vehicle for film and entertainment investors.
Under the proposed structure, Polymath would serve as the technology partner, providing infrastructure and expertise for digital securities issuance, investor onboarding, compliance workflows, investor management and the ongoing administration of tokenized interests.
The initiative is intended to address a longstanding challenge in independent film financing: connecting quality productions with capital efficiently while giving investors a structured way to participate in a diversified portfolio of entertainment opportunities.
“The film industry is just one of many exciting examples of where tokenization can solve real-world capital formation problems,” said Natalie Hirsch, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Polymath. “CineCity has the facilities, industry relationships, and production ecosystem, while Polymath brings the technology and capital markets infrastructure. Together, we have an opportunity to build a modern investment model around an asset class that historically has been inaccessible to many private investors.”
The proposed investment strategy is expected to evaluate opportunities across the film financing lifecycle and a range of financing structures. Final investment parameters, structure and offering terms remain subject to legal, regulatory and commercial review.
Polymath is a technology provider. It is not a broker-dealer, funding portal, investment adviser or placement agent, and is not offering, recommending or providing advice with respect to any security.
Bringing financing and production together
CineCity Studios operates a 140,000-square-foot film and television production facility in Chicago that has hosted major productions from Disney, Fox, Netflix, Comcast, NBCUniversal and Tyler Perry Studios. Commercial productions have included work for BMW, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Xfinity and Foot Locker/Nike, among others.
The studio has also invested in expanding its technology and production capabilities as it continues to support Chicago’s growing independent film and television community.
“There’s a tremendous amount of capital looking for differentiated investment opportunities, while filmmakers are constantly looking for more efficient ways to finance and produce quality productions,” said Stanley Wozniak, Managing Partner of CineCity Studios.
Wozniak adds, “The film and television industry has a constant, growing need for new content. The exciting addition of VP LED Studios on campus brings cutting-edge virtual production, motion capture, multi-cam tracking, Unreal Engine, and AI integration to Chicago. We’re bringing next-generation filmmaking to the studio with LED virtual production, combining immersive digital environments and real-time technology to expand creative possibilities and give filmmakers greater control. With VP LED, you can be anywhere. Working with Polymath gives us an opportunity to bring frontier technology into that equation and explore an investment model that can connect these two worlds in a way that has never before been possible.”
Illinois incentives and a federal proposal
The companies described the potential tax benefits in their announcement:
Future productions at CineCity Studios qualify for Illinois’ expanded Film Production Tax Credit, a 35% credit on eligible in-state spending. For investors, the credit creates an opportunity to reduce the effective cost of qualifying production expenditures by 35%, allowing more invested capital to go toward the production and its revenue-generating assets.
With the program extended through 2038, CineCity Studios offers productions a long-term opportunity to take advantage of one of the nation’s most competitive film incentives. The Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, introduced in 2026, would add a federal credit of 20% on U.S. labor. If passed as described, a Chicago production could combine Illinois’ 35% credit with the federal 20% credit for a total of 55%, which would make Illinois one of the strongest places in the world to film.
Expanding the uses of digital securities
For Polymath, the proposed collaboration would represent another application of tokenization beyond traditional financial assets and real estate, demonstrating how digital securities infrastructure can be applied to intellectual property, entertainment and alternative investments.
Polymath develops enterprise-grade infrastructure for issuing, compliance, and lifecycle management of regulated digital securities and tokenized financial instruments. Through its purpose-built technology and capital markets ecosystem, the company enables issuers and market participants to create and manage tokenized representations of real-world assets within compliant frameworks, supporting investor onboarding, regulatory controls and post-issuance administration.
On August 18, 2026, Polymath announced an agreement to be acquired by TruGolf Holdings, Inc., which trades on Nasdaq under the symbol TRUG. The transaction is expected to bring Polymath’s purpose-built blockchain and tokenization infrastructure to the U.S. public markets, subject to customary closing conditions.
Supporting Chicago’s production community
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CineCity’s Chicago production campus provides comprehensive studio, virtual production and office facilities for film and television. The facility supports independent movies, major motion picture productions, commercial campaigns and entertainment industry events.
Events include Filmscape, Half-Rez, Chicago International Film Industry Days, the SAG-AFTRA Baron Awards, the Actors Empowerment Summit, the Pop-Up Asian Film Festival, the Latino Film Festival, IATSE Marketplace, the Best of the Midwest Film Festival Awards, and Chicago Innovation.
CineCity Studios also advances education, professional training and industry collaboration, helping strengthen and connect Chicago’s growing film and television production community.
