Moviegoing, Margaritas and Distribution Roulette, in Equal Doses, at CineVegas

CineVegas artistic director Trevor Groth takes a brief moment to speak to filmmakers and industry at a fest party this weekend. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE

Insiders and filmmakers seem to love this festival for its low-key Sin City vibe and consistent programming via Sundance vet Trevor Groth. Parties continue into the wee hours and morning screenings don’t start too early. For the filmmakers who have their world premiere here, a sizable contingent of buyers are in place for screenings at CineVegas. Folks from Lions Gate, IFC, Paramount, Magnolia, Miramax, Sony, Oscilloscope, Summit, Liberation and Arthouse, as well as numerous critics, journalists and bloggers, liken the event to SXSW in Austin. A place to work in a more casual environment. The perfect post-Cannes summer film retreat.

Amidst all the inherent distractions in Vegas, it deserves repeating that people are watching movies here. Organizers have crafted their event around the sprawling Palms resort and the programming is a rather smart mix of mostly artsy debut features, commercial summer specialty films, and tributes to folks like the Kuchar Brothers, Willem Dafoe and Jon Voight.

Groth has been here for eight years now, joining the festival early on and taking it in a new direction that he will continue to pursue even though he is now head of programming at Sundance. Films that may not work at Sundance, or projects that just aren’t quite ready, have a summer outlet that can assure they will remain on the radar of industry insiders. Outside of Sundance and SXSW, few other American festivals can boast such an array of buyers in the audience for work that in most cases doesn’t have name cast on screen.

Jason Resnick (left to right) with IFC’s Arianna Bocco, Miramax’s Peter Lawson and CineVegas (and Sundance) industry maven Rosie Wong at a CineVegas party on Thursday. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE

Of course, getting seen by buyers is only half the battle. Few fests draw buyers, but even when they do, even fewer companies are actually paying money for low-budget independent films today. Film festivals are primarily a vanity theatrical distribution circuit that doesn’t put any money back in the hands of the filmmakers themselves. Let’s face it, a small percentage of the films that have a debut at premiere American fests from January to June (Sundance, New Directors, SXSW, Tribeca, LA Film Fest, Full Frame, etc.)—no matter how good they are—will have a life beyond DVD or an online platform. And those that do will have to be distributed in mostly DIY, self-funded fashion by the filmmakers or producers themselves.

With that in mind, Cinevegas organizers staged a unique filmmaker brunch/panel discussion/game show. Today’s Distribution Roulette showcased eight distribution experts who shared insights and advice with festival directors and producers.

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