INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION
Another edition of the LA Film Festival is in the books. Thirty-nine films had their world premieres at the 2015 Festival and 59% of the films that screened were from first-time directors. Audiences applauded and filmmakers left the theaters grinning from ear to ear. But… where do their movies go from here?
Scott Mansfield, Founder and Managing Partner at Monterey Media, an independent distribution company that acquired Runoff at the LA Film Festival in 2014, says most of the filmmakers he works with know very little about distribution. “It’s a foreign world to them,” Mansfield says. “They’re riding high because festival audiences have loved their film, but the reality is now [they’re] facing the red pencils of the critics and serious competition for consumers’ time.”
Julie Candelaria, VP of Marketing at Gravitas Ventures, a leading VOD distributor that acquired the comedy Apartment Troubles at last year’s Festival, says that it’s “a fascinating time to be part of the entertainment distribution business” and that she “[has] an amazing opportunity to help shape the new distribution models and really figure out what works.”
Runoff and Apartment Troubles were two of the 12 films from the 2014 LA Film Festival that were subsequently acquired for distribution. But how does one get that elusive distribution deal? And as a filmmaker, is there anything you can do to give your film a better shot?
From our conversations with Candelaria and Mansfield, we came up with four keys for filmmakers to keep in mind as they navigate the evolving world of independent film distribution in the 21st century.
This one’s not a surprise. The first thing filmmakers think of when they think about how they’re going to sell their movie is what high profile cast they can attach to the project. It’s also one of the first things Mansfield and Candelaria say they’re looking for.