Making a feature film and seeing the project all the way through from beginning to end is a major accomplishment that no one will ever be able to take away from you. But after that comes another major milestone – getting it distributed.
I was sitting on a film panel at a convention recently and the topic was: How to Distribute an Independent Film.
It was great to hear from other filmmakers about their experiences and the advice they had to give. We had many great discussions and answered a host of valid questions about the topic. It was a phenomenal experience.
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about film distribution lately. Not just because of the convention and the fact that I’ve been down that road before, but also because I’m about to go down that road again with my newest feature film, “Darkness Hunting”.
Preparing for the convention also forced me to reflect upon my own distribution strategies and what advice I could give to the new filmmaker about the topic.
Now that I have a clearer picture about the subject and how to go about it, I’m going to tell you everything I know about how to get distribution for an independent film.
Who Doesn’t Love a Festival
There are only two types of films that are made in this industry: those that have distribution in place before filming begins and those that do not. One is a studio film. The other is an independent film.
If you have made an independent film and are now seeking distribution, the best thing you can do is to try to gain the attention of distributors. But, how do you do that?
The best way for an independent film to gain the attention of larger distributors is still by trying to get into the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world.
Submitting your film to a festival costs money, but, if you get in, you could potentially gain the attention of a whole host of distributors and the ball will be more in your court.
It’s certainly advantageous to have distributors seeking you and your film out as opposed to the other way around, and these larger festivals present an opportunity for you to potentially do just that.
Here is a list of film festivals that a majority of distributors attend. It’s not an exhaustive list and any omission of a festival from the list doesn’t mean that film distributors don’t also attend those festivals. It simply means that, in my opinion, after talking with others in the industry and doing my own research, these are the festivals that came up in conversation and popped out the most.
Those festivals were; Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
There are dozens of other film festivals out there that distributors are likely to attend and you should always do your own research before submitting, but it is certainly worth submitting to these festivals if you don’t get into any of the above-mentioned festivals. Why?
Because, as I said before, other distributors could potentially be there and all the festivals allow you to network with other industry professionals and filmmakers. The more people you meet and the more you put yourself out there, the better it will be for your career.
You can now submit to most film festivals through FilmFreeway (filmfreeway.com). It is a free website that allows you to essentially create an entire online portfolio for your film, as well as being able to upload the entire film itself. This way you control who gets permission to view it.
You can also add your poster, synopsis, director biography, director statement, trailers, production stills, set photos, news & reviews, complete credits, and project specifications.
Project specifications include things like genre, runtime, completion date, production budget, country of origin, country of filming, language, shooting format, and aspect ratio, just to name a few.
You can also upload links to the movie’s website as well as links to any pertinent social media accounts. Having a strong online presence can only add to your credibility and improve your chances of getting noticed.
Another thing you can upload is a PDF of your electronic press kit (EPK). An electronic press kit contains even more information and photos from the film. You can do an online search for electronic press kit examples for feature films to get you started if you are unfamiliar with them. The more you upload and include, the better your chances are of getting into one of the larger film festivals.
After you’ve done all of that, you can browse festivals on the website and submit your film to them, all from FilmFreeway. This allows those festivals to view your film and all of the other information you have uploaded and they will notify you by a certain date to let you know if you have been selected or not.
But what happens if you don’t get distribution as a result of attending film festivals or you want to bypass the festival circuit all together for whatever reason?
Take it to Market
There are several different film markets that take place every year. A film market is attended by all sorts of industry professionals including distributors, domestic sales agents, international sales agents, sales managers, producers, and directors, just to name a few.
As film festivals are more of a celebration of film and for entertaining audiences, film markets are all about the business.
There are several of the larger film festivals that also have a film market going on at the same time. These include Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film; Berlin Film Festival and the European Film Market (EFM); and there is also a lot of business that takes place at Sundance and TIFF.
Markets without a film festival attached include the American Film Market (AFM), Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, TIFFCOM in Tokyo, Japan which is a Marketplace for film & TV in Asia, as well as many others.
A film market brings different kinds of industry professionals together so that they can potentially do business with one another. Distributors are looking to acquire films as well as sell their catalog of films to different markets. Filmmakers and producers are there seeking distribution for their film(s), and so on.
This doesn’t necessarily put the ball in your court, but it does level the playing field. Everyone there knows you have a film to sell and they also know that a lot of people are there to acquire films.
If you go there with a film, you can try to get as many meetings as possible with sales agents and distributors. You tell them all about your film and they will probably ask for a screener link and password so that they can view your film.
A screener is just an online version of your film that they can easily view. You can upload your film and create a password for it on FilmFreeway, Vimeo, and many others. Just make sure you turn off or disable the download permissions so that the only thing anyone can do with the password is view the film.
The more screener requests you get, the better the chances are for you to receive a distribution deal. You might get 25, 50, or even 100 or more screener requests before you get distribution. Just keep at it and know that you are making progress.
Again, film markets cost money to attend as well as the cost of travel and accommodations, but they can be worth your while for networking and potentially making a deal.
But what if you don’t get distribution as a result of attending a film market or you want to bypass film markets all together for whatever reason?
The Internet is Your Friend
Start researching film distributors online and learn all that you can. Different companies have different submission requirements, so make sure you follow all instructions if you happen to go this route.
A lot of distributors have an online submission form that filmmakers can use to submit their film for consideration. Some have contact information for their acquisitions department or head of acquisitions and you can send a query email describing your film and ask if they would like a screener link and password.
If they get back to you, send them what they need, just make sure you do your research about the company beforehand.
Keep a correspondence log so that you know who you have submitted to, what you have sent them, who has gotten back with you, and who has turned the film down.
Send a follow-up email or make a phone call to any companies that haven’t gotten back to you within a couple of weeks and then just move on.
There are also film aggregators out there that, for a price, will distribute your film on different streaming platforms.
On the distribution film panel that I was recently a part of, we had a detailed discussion about the differences between traditional distributors and aggregators.
A film distributor will not charge you anything up front, but depending upon the deal and all of the different rights involved, will take a certain percentage of the profits in exchange for all they do.
A good distributor will provide some type of marketing for the film. They will also have knowledge of the different revenue streams involved and how to exploit them for maximum profit. The different revenue streams include theatrical, VOD, home video, pay-per-view, cable, TV, and foreign markets.
An aggregator charges a fee and does nothing in the way of marketing for the film.
There are also distributors that will not charge a fee, get the film on cable, TV, and as many different streaming platforms as possible for a percentage of profit, but will do little or nothing in terms of marketing. Is this a distributor or an aggregator?
We argued this point on the panel and decided that they were a little bit of both. So, you can also find these distributor/aggregator hybrids out there, as well.
What it all comes down to is just getting your film out there and making a deal that works for you and your film.
I hope this has helped shed some light on a difficult and complicated subject and I wish all new filmmakers the best of luck as you begin to navigate your way through the long and winding maze that is the film industry.
