Authors — Kyle Henry
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Tour or Perish: A Self-Distribution Case Study
In the 1957 musical The Music Man, con man Henry Hill makes a living convincing small-town folks to buy expensive band instruments, ostensibly to keep their kids out of trouble. Really, he’s just fleecing them before skipping town, but then the con man falls in love with the town’s librarian. When she uncovers his scheme, she challenges him to not run away and to invest in the community. He does, and by the end everyone is transformed by love and music. The high-school production of The Music Man I was in instilled lessons about salesmanship and the importance, to quote […]
by Kyle Henry on Sep 17, 2025 -
The Agony and the Ecstasy: Self-Distributing the Independent Feature Rogers Park
I’m a midcareer filmmaker with a few features that have played at major international film festivals, including Sundance and Cannes, followed by modest distribution. So, you can imagine my shock when my third feature, Rogers Park, was programmed by… almost no festivals. Despite having what I thought was a track record, I found myself in the wonderful position of having made a no-star ensemble film that had no industry champions, no curatorial validation and no traction. After regrouping from a year of festival rejections, I had to make a decision. Should I throw in the towel and post my film […]
by Kyle Henry on Sep 17, 2018
