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Film Festivals are not a Distribution Strategy
Film Festivals are not a Distribution Strategy
by joannefilm | Oct 2, 2023
I was reading Ted Hope’s Substack today, and he mentioned something that I know to be true, that still most filmmakers believe that getting their film into festivals is a path to distribution. In today’s Sunday September 24th’s Substack, Hope writes: “ Although it doesn’t seem like many films get picked up for distribution on the festival circuit much these days, but that still is Plan A for most filmmakers.” Life’s A Rollercoaster Ride Of Delight, Fight, Flight & Fright, Right?
Well, that’s as may be, but it certainly isn’t plan A for MY clients!
Sometimes filmmakers hear me say that film festivals are not a place to get distribution for your film, and they interpret that to mean that I don’t like film festivals. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A couple of weeks ago, I served as President of the Jury of the Brazilian Film Festival in Miami. I am one of the founders of this now 27 year old film festival that brings the best of Brazilian cinema to Miami Beach and elsewhere.
Right now, I am flying back to the US from Trinidad and Tobago and have just spent the past 4 days running around with some festival programmers who specialize in programming Latin American and Caribbean films at festivals all over the world.
I have seen some amazing films: the Brazilian film – “Alien Nights” just blew my mind and I’ve been telling everyone about it! Especially, the programmers who may consider it for the other festivals they program films for. I just saw an exquisitely beautiful film from Martinique, about a mental hospital there and the use of traditional “belen” music and dance for healing. The film was politically astute, beautifully made, and inspiring.
I taught a class called “Funding Your Film” at the National Library in Trinidad and Tobago and had a great turnout of Caribbean filmmakers eager to learn how to raise the money to make their films.
And generally had a ball….
However, I did not meet one, single, distributor at these marvelous events. And I can assure you, that you could attend a thousand film festivals and never meet one.
This is one of the topics I have written about in my upcoming book: “Getting Your Films Funded, Produced and Distributed Globally” due to be released on Jan 1, 2024. The fact is that the goal of film festivals is to a) show great films and b) to sell tickets. If you already have a distributor, they may be able to negotiate screening fees for you and I’ve had a couple of clients who have received those. But the majority of films shown at film festivals end up being a cost to the filmmaker: airfares, hotel accommodations, meals, transportation, DCP production, and more.
The “festivals” that distributors actually attend are more accurately called: Markets. These include Sundance, Rotterdam, Berlinale, Cannes, Toronto, and now, to some extent, Tribeca and South By Southwest. The American Film Market (AFM) is also a market, and in this case, it is not a film festival.
Especially since COVID, many distribution companies solicit films, and this is certainly an option for filmmakers. I facilitate distribution of all my client’s films, and speak to sales agents, distributors, and producer’s reps all the time. The fact is that these industry representatives – like most people who are in the film industry – don’t really like speaking to filmmakers.
The best thing you can do, as a filmmaker, is to educate yourself as much as possible about distribution, so that if you do get the opportunity to speak to an industry representative, that you know what you are talking about. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it to study these aspects of the industry. And on January 1st, you’ll be able to get all the information you need in one book!
joannefilm is Joanne Butcher, a film business coach with a roster of clients that have over 100 feature films in various stages of development and over 15 clients with feature films in distribution, as well as one client with a series on PBS. She has experience consulting on over 40 successful crowdfunding campaigns. She uses her decades of experience as a fundraiser in multiple sectors through her business, Filmmaker Success, where she runs The Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Formula™ and The Virtual Fundraising Team to help filmmakers and non-profits change their way of thinking, raise money, and achieve their goals.
I'm Joanne Butcher
Film Business Coach and Consultant
"Are you ready to take a leap of faith and make the film you've been dreaming of making?
Have you given any thought to how to make your films financially viable? Profitable?
Is it time to finally tell the story you were always meant to tell?
Make Movies. Make Money. Make the World a Better Place.
Filmmakers are the most creative people in the world. Whether you write, produce, direct, act, compose scores, storyboard (the list goes on!), I truly believe that you have a unique story to tell and that that story can change the world.
Where I most often see independent filmmakers (second and third feature filmmakers
not excluded) struggle, though, is in turning that creativity into a well-made, successful, and financially viable film.
And that's where I come in.
With my experience in marketing, fundraising, and producing, I have guided clients through writing Nicholl's award-winning scripts, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, producing the films they've always dreamed of, and transforming their overall thought processes around creating.
My clients currently have 13 films in distribution, with 5 more on the way later this year. Others have nationwide programming on PBS, and many are working on internationally produced documentary and narrative feature films.
The struggle is OVER, after reading this book the path to funding your first Block Buster will be CLEAR!
Make Movies. Make Money. Make the World a Better Place.
Filmmakers are the most creative people in the world. Whether you write, produce, direct, act, compose scores, storyboard (the list goes on!), I truly believe that you have a unique story to tell and that that story can change the world.
Where I most often see independent filmmakers (second and third feature filmmakers
not excluded) struggle, though, is in turning that creativity into a well-made, successful, and financially viable film.
And that's where I come in.
With my experience in marketing, fundraising, and producing, I have guided clients through writing Nicholl's award-winning scripts, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, producing the films they've always dreamed of, and transforming their overall thought processes around creating.
My clients currently have 13 films in distribution, with 5 more on the way later this year. Others have nationwide programming on PBS, and many are working on internationally produced documentary and narrative feature films.
My B.U.L.L.E.T.P.R.O.O.F coaching program helps you HEAL from a lifetime of NARCISISTIC ABUSE.
The struggle is OVER, after reading this book the path to
funding your first Block Buster will be CLEAR!
Do you want the secret to getting you film funded?
Inside this book I will reveal the answers to all your questions, the secrets to getting your film funded & distributed globally. After reading this book you will have the knowledge and tools the raise the money you need to make a film that sets the world on fire! This is my 'Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S Formula' Click the button below to start your journey to film funding success...
Do you want the secret to getting you film funded?
Inside this book I will reveal the answers to all your questions, the secrets to getting your film funded & distributed globally. After reading this book you will have the knowledge and tools the raise the money you need to make a film that sets the world on fire! This is my 'Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S Formula' Click the button below to start your journey to film funding success...
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