HOLLYWOOD — Almost all of this year’s crop of best picture nominees were financed not by big studios, but by independent companies, says Nick Meyer, who represents Amazon-backed “Manchester by the Sea” internationally and Jeff Bridges’ “Hell or High Water.”

Meyer, the CEO of Sierra Affinity, a film producer, financier and distributor, says a host of moviemakers this year already sold their foreign rights to finance their productions.

He points out that only one best picture nominee — Fox’s “Hidden Figures” — was wholly financed by a big studio.

The great influx of cash from China “has made the competition for projects more rigorous,” Meyer confirms, but adds that personal relationships count for just as much toward getting on board with quality projects.