10 Tips For Strategizing Distribution Today

by Peter Knegt (April 30, 2009)

5. Believe In The Power of Some Sort of Theatrical

“Just about all of [Oscilloscope’s] films are theatrically released. A lot of them are platform released out of New York, but we also do West-come-East, and some of our films can go more directly to non-theatrical… We do a lot of work at museums, and try to figure out the most cost-effective - yet productive - way to get the film out there. But we do believe in the power of some sort of theatrical, hopefully as big as possible.” - David Fenkel

6. Expand The Notion Of Theatrical

“There’s a whole world of “non-theatrical,” which is actually very theatrical.  You have to think about how whenever you’re seeing a film with a group of people in a dark room, that’s theatrical. It can be in a museum, it can be in a theater, it can be in a parking lot, it can be in a gallery… I think a lot of filmmakers now - before jettisoning theatrical completely - need to consider this. Because I agree, theatrical is really expensive, you do lose money if you’re in an independent, it’s very hard to break even at all. But if you expand the notion of what theatrical is... I think this notion that theatrical is ‘in theaters for a week-long run’ [is problematic]. I have to say our most profitable screenings for [my film] ‘Bomb It’ were one-day, two-day events, because people have to get down there - it’s an event… There are ways to do it that are much less expensive.” - Jon Reiss

7. Be More Involved as a Filmmaker

”The filmmakers need to be more involved. [We at IFC are] actually working on a movie right now called ‘How To Be.” It stars Robert Pattinson, and its not going to be theatrically released. But the filmmakers have taken the film on a tour around the country, booking different venues in major cities. And basically selling out thousand-seat theaters to screaming teeange girls. We just did it in New York over the weekend, and it totally sold out, with no advertising.  And not really any publicity - it’s all primarily through their Facebook page and their website. The movie is going to premiere on demand this week, and we’re expecting it to do really, really well.” - Ryan Werner

8. There’s No One Right Way To Publicize Your Film

“The good news is there’s all these different options [for publicity], the bad news is no one can really tell you which is the right one for your movie. You’re going to have to make that decision yourself. It’s hard. People come to us and ask ‘what do you think we should do with our movie?’ And I can tell you some options, but it’s often so early that I can’t tell you which is the right one. I don’t think anybody up here [on this panel] could tell you which is the right one for sure.  So it means a filmmaker has to take a lot more responsibility for his or her own film than they have in the past. You need to start thinking about who the audience for your movie is when you start making the movie.” - Cynthia Swartz

9. Generating Audiences Is Your Responsibility

“Filmmakers need to realize that it’s not just about making films, but it’s about generating audience for our films. That’s your responsibility, and frankly, it always has been in the independent world... Yes, it’s a lot of work to do self-distribution or hybrid distribution. It’s pretty much a year of your life… But you have to work and get your audience. The only person that’s going to be the most passionate about your film is you.” - Jon Reiss

10. Make a Film With The Right Scale In Mind

“When [in 1989], ‘sex, lies and videotape,’ was made and bought, they would have been very happy if they had gotten to $2 million, $3 million.  Success was measured by $1 million gross. By the end of [the 1990s], it was $10 million.  Now it’s $25 million.  People talk about breaking out beyond that. Everyone wants to be ‘Slumdog,’ or everyone wants to be ‘Juno’... Unfortunately, it’s misguiding people. It’s giving you a sense that these are the real numbers you should be thinking about. When in fact, what we should be really talking about is going back to making a film with a different scale in mind. And having films be made for a price in which the audience that is available for going to a film can actually bring the revenue to the work, so that it actually breaks even… Unfortunately, too many people in this business have a hit-driven mentality.” - Geoff Gilmore

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posted on April 30, 2009
Films to Snag
Comments
1
pegu says on May 4, 2009 at 9:27am

@BigStar, I’m all for new distribution opportunities. Maybe I’m a little prudish in not wanting my film next to the other indie films like “Never Been Touched” or “Desperately Horny Housewives”. Granted, the adult industry has always been a technology innovator/energizer (VHS, CDROM, online subscriptions), but I’d prefer to have completely different distrib platforms in cases like this.

2
SeymourB says on May 4, 2009 at 12:46am

Independent filmmakers who are interested in selling digital downloads of their films online should check out http://www.bigstar.tv - they have a non-exclusive contract, and you set your own prices.

Their whole site is dedicated to independent film.. It’s the best one I’ve found so far.

3
ben77 says on April 30, 2009 at 7:22pm

That’s a great link, raveboy.  Though I do have to say I found the statements here also quite helpful.  Occasionally a little broad, sure, but this is a 1000 word article, not a book on how to make films.  The last five statements in particular - which don’t discuss the “old theatrical, DVD and television markets” at all but instead speak - broadly, but insightfully - to the evolution of publicity and marketing that, at least for me as a fairly new filmmaker that doesn’t get a chance to attend film festivals very regularly, was very helpful.

4
thraveboy says on April 30, 2009 at 4:40pm

Honestly, these just sounds like empty broad statements talking about the old theatrical, DVD, and television markets that don’t give any direction of specifics to start even thinking about.

There was a online roundtable a few weeks ago that I found a lot more insightful and the contributors seemed to have more specific and interesting ideas, or at least not as much “more of the same” that these points seem to make. Here’s the link to that roundtable:  http://bit.ly/UVDd3

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