Sundance 2005 -- Distribution 101 Panel Discussion
(This document is a summary of my notes from the Sundance 2005 Distribution 101 Panel Discussion held on January 25, 2005.)
Moderator Bert Manzari introduced the panelists. Manzari came to be the moderator because of his affiliation with Landmark Theatres, one of the premier independent film chainlets. This panel discussion was programmed by Sundance's John Nein and it began with each panelist summarizing his/her role in the current industry.
Steve Friedlander, Executive Vice President Warner Brothers: While the panel was described as Alternative Distribution 101, Friedlander acknowledged that he was there as the representative for mainstream corporate distribution. Warner's distributed Before Sunset and We Don't Live Here Anymore. "Warner's," he said, "has a studio boutique that specializes in films with an anticipated box office of ten million or more. We're not really geared up for the niche film."
Mark Urman, ThinkFilm: Initially, I was most interested in hearing what panelist Mark Urman had to say. ThinkFilm has successfully distributed many of my favorite Sundance films including The Dangerous World of Altar Boys, Spellbound, I Like Killing Flies and Born Into Brothels. At this festival, they picked up Murderball. Urman said, "ThinkFilm is completely independent. We are a Canadian company and we have distributed 14 Sundance films, thus far." Throughout the panel, Urman had really meaningful advice for beginning filmmakers.
Marcus Hu, Strand Releasing: Marcus has been with Strand for 16 years. Strand specializes in the gay and lesbian niche. Strand is distributing Sundance 2005's Tony Takitani. According to Hu, the film is getting good critical reaction and will open in 150 theaters.
Laura Michalchysyn, Sundance Channel: Very new to her position as the director of Sundance Channel, Michalchysyn said that her reference point was pay cable. "Our viewers are film buyers," said Michalchysyn. Sundance Channel goes into 22 million homes. Sundance films do require a theatrical release to be successfully received. Since Sundance is clearly branded as a source for quality documentary and dramatic film, films like Ondi Timoner's DIG and Jehane Noumain's Control Room did very well.
Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting: Broderick positioned himself immediately as the "Digital Advocate" on the panel. "We have a crisis in distribution for digital producers," said Broderick, "A crisis that limits options and often gives the Middleman rights to a filmmaker's product for 15 years." Broderick called for the development of more hybrid approaches to licensing. He recommended using the internet to build a direct link to your CORE personal audience. A core audience of 20,000 or more can radically alter a filmmaker's ability to make an independent film. If a sufficient number of supporters are willing to pre-purchase the DVD of your film, you generate your own production budget. This type of business plan opens a whole new world of options for the filmmaker.
Hal Hartley, filmmaker: Hartley followed such a distribution path with editor Steve Hamilton. Hartley explained that they began by selling CDs of music from their films. It was very popular and generated quite a bit of income. They next marketed a DVD of their short films. While they enjoyed the income, they were dismayed to find that they were spending a lot of time on the logistics of labeling, shipping and managing inventory. Hartley's film The Girl From Monday was screened at Sundance 2005.
Connie White, Balcony Releasing: Her introduction was very understated but later in the discussion, Connie White had some terrific advice. White said that she was with Balcony Releasing and, formerly, Balcony Booking. White's focus was getting films into theaters. She said that she had been involved in the distribution of Sundance films Daughter From Danang and The Same River Twice.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix: The opposite end of the table was the opposite end of the distribution chain. Sarandos was from the consumer DVD distribution Goliath, Netflix. Sarandos said that Netflix reaches 2.6 million avid film viewers. Sarandos said that Netflix was also instrumental in the distribution of Daughter From Danang.
At this point, the discussion began.
Manzari: In the past, a theatrical distribution was necessary to create title recognition and provide access to the ancillary markets. Is it still necessary?
Friedlander: "No, it's not necessary," said Warner's Friedlander, "look at HBO."
Sarandos: No. In fact, the customary four-month gap between theatrical distribution and DVD release actually drives the piracy market and damages a filmmaker's financial return.
Broderick: Outfoxed demonstrated that a traditional theatrical release isn't necessary for film's success. Through the political action group MoveOn.Org, 100,000 copies of the film were sold online in only three weeks. Likewise, Uncovered started as a 60-minute version that was screened in private homes to approximately 200,000 viewers. As word of mouth grew, the longer version screen in 90 theaters. A second DVD was created and sold.
Urman: "We are a theatrical distributor so, of course, we believe theatrical distribution is critical." Lost In Translation was already in DVD release when it was nominated for an academy award. The theatrical release significantly impacted revenues. Sometimes documentaries like Born Into Brothels require a more flexible distribution plan but, overall, theatrical distribution improves a film's financial success.
Sarandos: Netflix was used as part of an alternative distribution plan to market Voices of Iraq. The film screened in 10 cities and was simultaneously released on DVD. As part of the plan, Netflix users who had rented and rated 5 or more political and/or war-themed films in the previous three months were targeted for an alert that the film was showing in a nearby theatre. Other users were advised that the DVD was available. The goal was to increase viewer interest and generate strong word of mouth.
Hu: The Sundance film The Cockettes screened on the Sundance Channel before it was distributed theatrically. The Sundance Channel helped increase title recognition and stimulated viewer interest.
Friedman: There are other non-advertising channels that can be used to create title recognition. MTV is participating in generating title recognition for Sundance 2005 films Murderball and The Emperor's Journey. When a clip of Amelie appeared on MTV, there was a big jump of the interest of that film.
Michalchysyn: Another example of an alternative plan for title recognition is Tim Robbins' Embedded. About 100 DVD press kits will be distributed for a free screening to generate interest in the March 20 broadcast of the film on The Sundance Channel. It remains to be seen how that will contribute to the broadcast success.
Roko Belic: Director of Genghis Blues: stood to ask a question of the panel. He said that they had tried to market their DVDs directly but found they spent so much time managing DVD sales they were doing that instead of making moves. They decided to use a fulfillment house instead. He offered the following financial breakdown:
$ 3.95 fulfillment house
3.00 production cost
+ 2.00 shipping costs
______________________
$18.00 return on Direct Sales
vs.
$2.50 return on Blockbuster Sales
White: "To listen to this conversation," said White, "you'd think the theater is disappearing as a distribution source but I have to say that I think that theatrical distribution is better for a film. Most theaters would NOT book a film if the DVD were already out because it would hurt the film's success." At an early point in my career, White started by "posing" as a distributor to theater bookers because she needed to get her films screened.
Sarandos: Theatrical distribution has a certain inefficiency in locating its audience, though. The cost of marketing a film to a national audience deeply cuts into the profits.
Manzari: Isn't the theatrical release a sort of "infomercial" for the DVDs? And, aren't the DVDs where studios make their money anyway? (There was a long, long, long question from the audience by a director asserting that a film could not get distribution if it did not have a major movie star in the film. Many of the panelists responded to that assertion.)
Urman: ThinkFilm distributed Primer, a Sundance film that didn't have a single known actor. It didn't do well in theatres but it was an unusual narrative. It was still an accessible film and a story that we thought deserved attention. Sometimes, a known star can actually hurt the film. Having someone like Jennifer Aniston in a film may be a poison gift to the distributor. The anticipated audience may not accept the actor in this role. The star may be unwilling to fly in to do press. A movie star does not guarantee distribution and may hurt the chances for distribution.
Friedlander: Stars can help with foreign sales, especially if the film is well-reviewed. However, if the film is well-reviewed, a star isn't necessary. Shine, a Sundance 1996 film starred a relatively unknown Geoffrey Rush. The tremendous reviews drew audiences in worldwide and ignited Rush's career.
Broderick: How about Napoleon Dynamite? There were no major stars in that film and it was quite successful. It was a film with a core market of NERDs but it was a strong core audience. More important than a star, you need a strong core audience. Dynamite used a strong web campaign along with reviews to very successfully market their niche film.
Audience question: Is there an optimum budgetary range?
Urman: "We don't care what the film cost, we care about what it will earn."
Hu: "You want the budget that will allow the film to be the most successful film it can possibly be. Many of our films fall in the $20,000 to $30,000 range."
Friedlander: Open Water, one of the breakout films of last year was made for less than a million dollars and was very successful.
White: You can book a low-budget film on a number of screens but a film must gross a certain amount to stay on the screen. The theater owners have to generate enough income to cover their operating costs.
Friedlander: A big budget film needs a wide theatrical distribution to make back its money. If a studio knows they have a weak film, they'll open the movie as wide as possible with a strong marketing campaign because they know the film won't be able to sustain much more than a four-week run. If they can recoup most of their production costs, they can still make a profit on the DVD sales. The budget doesn't determine the success but it can certainly ensure the failure.
Audience question: Don't you need a star to get into theatres?
Hartley: A certain level of visibility of star can help you get into theatres.
Friedlander: The director may also be a big a draw as an actor in the independent world.
Audience question: What about a Producer's Rep? I read a lot about them lately. If you have no known actors, can they really help you use the "festival heat" to get the conversation going? (It seemed that this was actually a producer's rep promoting his own agenda. No one on the panel really took the question.)
Audience question: Do distributors still "respect the windows" or have those rules relaxed and expanded. (Note: The "windows" were mentioned early in the panel by Sarandos when he spoke of the four-month gap between theatrical distribution and DVD release.)
Manzari: Yes, those rules are relaxing.
Audience question: What if you don't get into a festival? A premiere festival like Sundance is certainly difficult. How do you get people interested in your film?
Urman: Go to the second-tier festivals. We send a VP of Acquisition who never unpacks. He is always on the road scoping all of the festivals for new films. (Note: The DVD extras on Open Water tells of how the film was seen at an East Coast festival before it was purchased at Sundance.)
Friedlander: Kissing Jessica Stein was discovered at a festival attended by 300 people.
Urman: You also need to create visibility for your film at the festival. You need a plan for getting attention at the festival; to create recognition and interest in your film. Your team needs to get media, critics, and buyers to pay attention to your film. The most successful film at a festival may not be the best film but the film that was best at getting noticed.
(Note: On the final day of the festival, I overheard someone speaking with a publicist about the awards ceremony the night before and asking how the publicist's films had done in the festival. "I don't measure my success by the awards," he said, "Every one of my films got media coverage, they got good reviews and all but one got distribution. That's how I measure my success." )
Audience question: What about "four-walling"? What if you guarantee the house? Can you get a theatrical release that way?
Manzari: It can be done but it's not very common because of the politics with distributors. A theater owner may be slitting his own throat if he does that sort of thing too often.
Broderick: There are a few theater owners who will look at ANY film and screen it theatrically if they deem it worthwhile. Film Forum in New York City is an example of that.
Sarandos: You just have to call and get the theaters to say, "Yes."
Friedlander: Ira Deutchman is another resource. Deutchman is a friend to digital films with no distribution.
Urman: If you advertise your film and screen it in New York, the daily papers will review your film as a matter of policy. Film Forum will screen your film for free IF it is good. A good review from a New York daily can launch your film.
White: Emerging Pictures is Deutchman's company.
Sarandos: The goal is to get key people to take your film on as a "passion project." A passion project will be given time to grow even if it is slow process.
Audience Question: There are so many other sources for gaining recognition; isn't it possible to brand your film yourself, find your core audience and successfully distribute your film? Isn't that the path Hal Hartley has followed? Isn't he his own brand?
Broderick: You can be very successful if you have a strong, pro-active distribution plan. An example of that is Reversal. Reversal is a college wrestling film with that was made and successfully distributed with no paid advertising. Wrestling publications, clubs and organizations were contacted through the web and other avenues. Over $400,000 in revenues were generated. Another example is Faster, a grand prix motorcycle film that sold 14,000 units at LA Arclight and another 5000 DVDs in just two weeks with targeted audience notification.
Sarandos: Again, you can see how the core audience drives the success.
Audience Question: What about acquisitions?
Michalchysyn: The Sundance Channel buys about 150 dramatic films per year and 50 to 70 documentary films per year. We are always looking for new material. We watch films for a living.
Sarandos: At Netflix, we acquire about 100 titles per year and distribute another 8500 titles.
