Distribution
Filmmaking - Distribution
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New Innovators in Distribution: Talking Trends and Hybrid Models at IFP Film Week
Film has been a dying industry for as long as I’ve been making, selling and distributing them. That’s what they say. And there’s certainly evidence that sales agents and distributors are having to re-think how they do business. The recent news that respected arthouse distributor Fortissimo Films had filed for bankruptcy left many saddened, but it seems that news of this nature is increasingly frequent. One of yesterday’s first panels at IFP Film Week, “New Innovators: Distribution,” moderated by Filmmaker Contributing Editor Brandon Harris, brought together industry members who are working innovatively in film, TV, and online distribution to discuss […]
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The Orchard Releases Detailed Distribution Revenue Figures for Cartel Land, Launches New Film Analytics Dashboard
Distributor The Orchard launched today what they are calling “the industry’s first fully-transparent dashboard for film analytics.” Using figures for their recent release, the Oscar-nominated doc Cartel Land, the dashboard provides hard figures for film revenues across both different platforms and then tracks and projects them over time. Simply put, this is extraordinary. The lack of digital reporting figures has been cited repeatedly in Filmmaker and elsewhere as an impediment to filmmakers seeking to create business plans for their films. The Cartel Land example posted today provides significantly more granular detail than is typically reported in the trades, and dynamic […]
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What Filmmakers Need to Know About Indie Film Distribution in 2016
You’ve made an independent film and you’d like to get it out into the world. Unfortunately, unless you’re already a “name” director with an established track record or your film has played at top festivals, there’s no clear route to getting distribution. In recent years as the traditional distribution model has shifted, the future of film distribution has been murky. But at a Portland Film Festival panel devoted to distribution, Drafthouse Films chief operating officer James Shapiro declared that “We have finally arrived at a place where we know what the future will look like, at least for the immediate […]
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New BitTorrent Fund Provides Cash and Promotional Support to Creators
BitTorrent has announced The Discovery Fund, which will provide cash grants and promotional support to 25 creators over the next year. BitTorrent is looking for artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators with projects seeking global distribution. The open, international initiative will provide $2,500-$100,00 in marketing and distribution funding. “The rules are simple. You make something awesome. You own it. We back it, and help you find a global audience for your big idea,” said Straith Schreder, VP of Creative Initiatives at BitTorrent, in a blog post. The announcement follows the launch earlier this year of BitTorrent Now, which adds a […]
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The Fine Print: How To Understand and Negotiate a Film Distribution Contract
There are many new distribution options for the independent producer. The old media includes theatrical, broadcast/cable, home video; new media’s alphabet soup includes TVOD, SVOD, AVOD, EST, PPV, streaming and nontraditional theatrical. As new distribution channels develop, new distribution companies emerge. But not all distributors are effective in all mediums and markets. Just as you would not expect Netflix or Vimeo to release your work theatrically (Netflix’s recent self-originated productions to the contrary), you would not expect Gathr and Tugg to broadcast or cablecast your work. As a consequence of all these new distribution channels and the splitting up of […]
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BitTorrent Launches BitTorrent Now with Streaming Option for Creators
BitTorrent Bundle will re-launch as BitTorrent Now, extending the platform with new streaming apps for Apple TV, iOS, and Android, as well as introducing advertising as a new revenue stream for creators, BitTorrent announced today. Straith Schreder, BitTorrent’s VP of Creative Initiatives, who has been the principal driver of this initiative, told Filmmaker, “we wanted to build a platform with the ability for creators to connect with their audience no matter where they are in the world. So being able to bring their project to what’s now an audience of 200 million passionate fans of indie film and indie music and to be able […]
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Producer Miranda Bailey Debunks Swiss Army Man Controversy and Challenges Conventions about Women in Film
You may not know Miranda Bailey’s name, but you probably know her work. As an actress, writer, director and producer, Miranda Bailey has a hand in just about every aspect of the independent film business. Early in her career, she executive produced Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, and since then her producing credits have included Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind and the award-winning documentary Spinning Plates. Bailey’s production company Cold Iron Pictures was behind the award-winning 2015 Sundance sensation Diary of a Teenage Girl, in which she played a supporting role opposite Kristen Wiig. This summer two other films that […]
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Upstream and Downstream: 5 Observations about Independent Film Distribution at the 2016 Midpoint
The following article appears in our Spring, 2016 print edition and is appearing from behind our paywall today for the first time. Will 2016 be remembered as the year that Amazon and Netflix gobbled up the indie film market? Probably. While the two online behemoths could always change their strategies in the next several months, the ramifications of their first quarter dominance stretched far and wide, sending shockwaves through the business. But there were other changes afoot, as well. Here are five industry trends that continue to linger long after Park City. 1. The Enduring Impact of Amazon and Netflix Okay, Amazon […]
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How to Build Your Documentary’s Distribution Strategy
Gone are the days when if you were lucky enough to sell your documentary to a single distributor, they would take care of the rest. Though a select group of established documentary filmmakers still operate along those traditional lines, the majority of independent filmmakers working in documentaries today rely on a hybrid distribution plan in which theatrical, festivals, broadcast, educational, non-theatrical, and VOD rights are split. The upsides of a hybrid plan are that it potentially enables filmmakers to earn more revenue and also to develop a long-term audience. The downside? It means more work for filmmakers. A workshop at the recent Oregon […]
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POV’s 2016 Calls for Entries is Now Open
POV, television’s longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films, has opened the doors for entries for the 2017 PBS broadcast season and beyond. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Each year POV premieres 14-16 of the most memorable nonfiction stories to public television audiences around the country. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films, including some of our all-time favorite documentaries such as Roger & Me (Michael Moore) Street Fight (Marshall Curry), American Revolutionary (Grace Lee) and The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer), among many others. For submission details and requirements, check out POV’s Call For Entries Guidelines and to get a […]
