The Film Collaborative^™

Helping filmmakers with all aspects of distribution, without taking rights.

how we work.

Click here to learn how TFC can help your film.

The Film Collaborative^™

Helping filmmakers with all aspects of distribution, without taking rights.

how we work.

Click here to learn how TFC can help your film.

sign up for our newsletter.

submit your film.

Click here to fill out our submission form.

A-Z site links.

Something you can’t find? Check out our a-z links page.

questions?

Feel free to contact us.

THE FILM COLLABORATIVE, INC.
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Black Box Diaires

TFC is honored to be handling Festival Distribution for MTV Documentary Films’ Black Box Diaries, directed by Shiori Itō, which premiere at Sundance, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

Oscar^® Nominated for Best Documentary Feature

I Am Ready, Warden

TFC is excited to work once again with Smriti Mundhra on her latest short, MTV Documentary Films’ I AM READY, WARDEN, on which Sheila Nevins serves as Executive Producer.

Oscar^® Nominated for Best Documentary Short

SPEAK.

TFC is excited to be handling Festival Distribution for and working again with Jen Tiexiera (and now Guy Mossman) on their latest film, Speak., which will premiere at Sundance 2025.

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY

5 years after Disclosure had its world premiere at Sundance, TFC is thrilled to be working once again with director/producer Sam Feder and producer Amy Scholder on Heightened Scrutiny, a film that couldn’t be more timely… or necessary.

THIRD ACT

We are very excited about handling Festival Distribution for Tadashi Nakamura’s very personal film about his father, Robert A. Nakamura, whom generations of artists have called “The Godfather of Asian American film,” The film will have its world premiere at Sundance 2025.

FREE LEONARD PELTIER

TFC is honored and humbled to be handlilng FREE LEONARD PELTIER, directed by Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. the United States) and David France (How To Survive a Plague, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, Welcome To Chechnya) and produced by Bird Runningwater. Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Queendom

From the producers behind Welcome to Chechnya comes the haunting, high-stakes tale of Gena, a uniquely provocative queer artist from a small town in Russia prior to and during the Ukrainian invasion. This TFC Festival Distribution and Fiscal Sponsorship client recently won the NEXT:WAVE Award at CPH:DOX.

Oscar^® Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature

Union

TFC is thrilled to be handling Festival Distribution for Brett Story and Stephen Maing’s Union, which premiered at Sundance, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change.

Oscar^® Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature

Daughters

TFC handled Fiscal Sponsorship for Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s Sundance Audience award-winning documentary Daughters, currently streaming on Netflix.

Oscar^® Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature

Separated

TFC is honored to be handling Festival Distribution for Errol Morris’s latest film, Separated, which premiered at Venice and Telluride 2024. The film is based on NBC Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book by the same name.

ZURAWSKI V TEXAS

TFC was a fiscal sponsor on this film, and now we are finally able to announce that we are handing it for Festival Distribution worldwide! Executive produced by Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Jennifer Lawrence, Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault’s powerful new film follows a group of women, denied abortions under Texas’ ambiguous and unforgiving bans, as they band together with a fearless attorney to sue Texas.

recent news.

You can now watch the Video Replays of TFC Distribution Days, a two-day virtual conference that was presented in collaboration with Sundance Institute and Film Independent and sponsored by the Golden Globe Foundation.

Distribution Advocates Podcast Episodes 1 and 6 are now LIVE!!

Episode 1 features TFC Founder and Co-ED Orly Ravid, where she, and others, demystify the role of sales agents, and explore one filmmaker’s journey in finding distribution without one! Listen below or click here for more info and the full transcript. Episode 6 also features Orly Ravid, where she, and others, examine current system of distribution, and what can happen to filmmakers when a distribution company fails. Listen below or click here for more info and the full transcript.

…and the awards go to…

TFC congratulates our clients with projects that are contenders for top awards this year!

Peabody Award nominees for Documentary, News, Public Service, and Radio/Podcast

(Winners announced on May. 1, 2025; Ceremony on June 1, 2025)

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

Documentary

Daughters

NOMINATED

Documentary

Queendom

NOMINATED

Documentary

Academy Award Shortlist

(Ceremony took place on Mar. 2, 2025)

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

Documentary Feature

mtv_documentary_films

I Am Ready, Warden

NOMINATED

Documentary Short

Queendom

SHORTLISTED

Documentary Feature

Union

SHORTLISTED

Documentary Feature

Daughters

SHORTLISTED

Documentary Feature

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

SHORTLISTED

Documentary Short

Film Independent Sprirt Awards

(Ceremony took place on Feb. 22, 2025)

Big Boys

NOMINATED

John Cassavetes Award

Best Breakout Performance
Isaac Krasner

A Photographic Memory

WINNER

Truer Than Fiction Award
Rachel Seed

NAACP Image Awards

(Ceremony took place on Feb. 21, 2025)

Luther: Never Too Much

WINNER!

Outstanding Documentary (Film)

WINNER!

Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Dawn Porter

Daughters

NOMINATED

Outstanding Documentary (Film)

Black Barbie

WINNER!

Outstanding Documentary (Television)

BAFTA Film Awards

(Ceremony took place on Feb. 16, 2025)

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

Documentary

Daughters

NOMINATED

Documentary

PGA Awards

(Ceremony took place on Feb. 8, 2025)

Mediha

NOMINATED

Documentary

Cinema Eye Awards

(Ceremony took place on Jan. 9, 2025)

Union

NOMINATED

Direction
Stephen Maing, Brett Story

WINNER!

Production
Mars Verrone, Samantha Curley

Unforgettables
Chris Smalls

Queendom

NOMINATED

Visual Design
Agniia Galdanova

WINNER!

Unforgettables
Jenna Marvin

Songs From the Hole

WINNER!

Heterodox

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

Nonfiction Feature

Debut Feature
Shiori Ito

WINNER!

Unforgettables
Shiori Ito

Daughters

NOMINATED

Nonfiction Feature

Audience Choice Prize Nominee

mtv_documentary_films

I Am Ready, Warden

NOMINATED

Shorts List Semifinalist

A Photographic Memory

NOMINATED

Spotlight

Time Bomb Y2K

NOMINATED

Broadcast Editing
Marley McDonald, Maya Mumma

Astra Film & Creative Arts Awards Nominations

(Ceremony took place on Dec. 8, 2024)

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

Documentary

Daughters

NOMINATED

Documentary

IDA Awards

(Ceremony took place on Dec. 5, 2024)

Luther: Never Too Much

WINNER!

Career Achievement
Dawn Porter

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

WINNER!

Emerging Filmmaker
Shiori Ito

NOMINATED

Feature Documentary

Direction
Shiori Ito

Editing
Ema Ryan Yamazaki

Queendom

WINNER!

Cinematography
Ruslan Fedotov

NOMINATED

Direction
Agniia Galdanova

Mediha

NOMINATED

Writing
Hasan Oswald

Songs from the Hole

NOMINATED

Musical Documentary

Maestra

NOMINATED

Musical Documentary

The Gothams

(Ceremony took place on Dec. 2, 2024)

Union

NOMINATED

Documentary Feature

Critics Choice Documentary Awards

(Ceremony took place on Nov. 10, 2024)

Daughters

WINNER!

New Documentary Filmmaker(s)

mtv_documentary_films

Black Box Diaries

NOMINATED

True Crime Documentary

mtv_documentary_films

I Am Ready, Warden

NOMINATED

Short Documentary

DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 List, Class of 2024

Samantha Curley • Producer, UNION; Producer, FRAMING AGNES
Contessa Gayles • Director/Producer, SONGS FROM THE HOLE
Hannes Hosp • Editor, GUMBO COALITION
Natalie Rae • Director, DAUGHTERS
Scott Alexander Ruderman • Director & Producer, MTV Documentary Films’ PAY OR DIE
Mars Verrone • Producer, UNION

See our clients’ previous awards and nominations.

TFC on location.

Orly Ravid will be part of Film Independent’s Documentary Story Lab, Thursday, May 8 from 9:30am-12pm.
Orly Ravid will moderate an IFTA online panel entitled “Packaging Films Today” on April 29, 2025 at 9:30am PDT.
TFC will be at Slamdance, Feb. 20-26, 2025.
Jeffrey Winter was at Berlinale, Feb. 13-23, 2025.
TFC will be at Sundance, Jan. 22-28, 2025.
Orly Ravid will be a guest speaker for Film Independent’s Amplifier Fellowship filmmakers on Dec. 12, 2024. The fellowship supports emerging and mid-career Black filmmakers.
Kathy Susca will be attending Watch Docs Human Rights Film Festival in Warsaw, Nov. 21-25, 2024.

See where else we’ve been.

Fest and Furious:
Maximize your Film Festival Strategy

Film Fatales presented an online workshop led by TFC’s very own Jeffrey Winter and Kathy Susca and moderated by TFC client Lagueria Davis (Director/Producer, Black Barbie: A Documentary).

Watch

Reimagining Distribution

Don’t sign that crappy deal! There are other effective ways to make money with your film. TFC’s Orly Ravid, David Averbach and Kathy Susca joined Keith Ochwat of Show&Tell and Jon Reiss of 8 Above to address pitching to partners as a priority, utilizing government agencies for educational sales, selling virtual events and educational toolkits, and other new strategies that are working for filmmakers.

Watch

SXSW 2022

Orly Ravid moderated a panel entitled, “Go Beyond the Big Global Streamers—Funders/Buyers Outside the U.S.” Panelists included Wendy Bernfeld (Rights Stuff), Jaume Ripoll (FilmIN), and Filippa Wallestam (Viaplay).

Watch

Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC)

TFC Founder Orly Ravid and Director of Fiscal Sponsorship Lynnette Gryseels joined Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) for a Q&A as part of WWFC’s virtual workshop series.

Watch

PBS Webinar

This special webinar by Keith Ochwat of Show&Tell provides an introduction to the PBS system and an actionable outline of how you can reach a large national audience and raise significant funding for your film.

Watch

AFM 2021

TFC Creative Director David Averbach moderated a marketing panel with Heidi Millay (Director of Marketing, Cinedigm), Emma Manfredi (Manager, Content Acquisitions, Giant Pictures), Ryan Davis (Co-Founder, Smarthouse Creative), Jitin Hingorani (Founder and Principle, Jingo Media) and Charles Rice (Social Media Manager | Strategy & Transformation, Rogers & Cowen PMK).

Watch

SXSW 2021

TFC’s Orly Ravid moderated panelists Wendy Bernfeld (Managing Director, Rights Stuff), filmmaker/producer Tracie Holder (who runs consulting company Means of Productions), and filmmaker Yi Chen (First Vote) in a discussion about which international VOD platforms and financial sources filmmakers can avail themselves of to achieve impact-oriented distribution.

Watch

Film Financing Panel

Orly Ravid moderated a panel of producers to discuss foreign tax incentives and credits and other international financing. Panelists included Alexander Nevsky (Hollywood Storm), Lauri Apelian (Ocean Sky Entertainment), Peter Graham (120dB Films and 120dB Advisors), and Jay Lin (Portico Media).

Watch

apply for

fiscal sponsorship.

check out the

digital distribution guide.

read the

tfc blog.

read our

distribution case studies.

check out the

distributor reportcard.

donate to a

fiscally sponored project.

see who we’ve worked with!

visit the tfc alumni page.

distripedia updates

We have recently added Good Deed Entertainment to our Distributor ReportCard™, which collates real experiences from real filmmakers, so that you can make informed decisions about which distributor might be the right fit for your film.

Dozens more planned for later this year—stay tuned!

Read Now

distripedia updates

Updated: A Practical Guide to Distributing Your Film Internationally: Who Else is Out There in the International Digital Space Beyond Just the Big Globals?

Read Now

distripedia updates

TFC’s Distribution Days is upon us!
A Primer by David Averbach, Liz Manashil and Orly Ravid

Read Now

distripedia updates

Episode 5 of :20 in ’22 is now available!

Orly Ravid interviews longtime TFC collaborative Wendy Bernfeld of RightsStuff about the latest trends in distribution in the EU and beyond, and some great advice to independent films looking to distribute across the pond.

Watch

distripedia updates

Latest Case Studies:

Mama Bears and You Can Live Forever.

Read Now

If your film premiered on the festival circuit after January 2023, has an interesting story to tell, and you’d like to help your fellow filmmakers learn from your successes (or failures), please fill out our submission form and check the “be a case study” checkbox.

newsletter.

Read our most recent monthly newsletters. You can sign up to receive them by clicking here.

April 2025
On Location, Peabody Nominations, Industry Survey, New Fiscal Projects, Grant Opportunities, and, of course, Tidbits!
March 2025
NAACP Awards, New Wave Fundraiser Screening, New Fiscal Projects, Grant Opportunities, and, of course, Tidbits!
February 2025
TFC On Location, New Case Study, Distributor ReportCard, New Fiscal Projects, Grant Opportunities
January 2025
TFC On Location, Awards & Nominations, Contribute to ResourcePlace, New Fiscal Projects, Grant Opportunities

See all more of our recent newsletters here.

Subnavigation

The Film Collaborative™

how we work.

The Film Collaborative™

how we work.

submit your film.

A-Z site links.

questions?

Black Box Diaires

I Am Ready, Warden

SPEAK.

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY

THIRD ACT

FREE LEONARD PELTIER

Queendom

Union

Daughters

Separated

ZURAWSKI V TEXAS

recent news.

…and the awards go to…

TFC on location.

Fest and Furious:Maximize your Film Festival Strategy

Reimagining Distribution

SXSW 2022

Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC)

PBS Webinar

AFM 2021

SXSW 2021

Film Financing Panel

apply for

fiscal sponsorship.

check out the

digital distribution guide.

read the

tfc blog.

read our

distribution case studies.

check out the

distributor reportcard.

donate to a

fiscally sponored project.

see who we’ve worked with!

visit the tfc alumni page.

distripedia updates

distripedia updates

distripedia updates

distripedia updates

distripedia updates

newsletter.

The Film Collaborative^™

The Film Collaborative^™

Fest and Furious:
Maximize your Film Festival Strategy