Battle for festival supremacy-TIFF vs Sundance
A knockout victory
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is just behind us and films submitted for Sundance are a month away from their acceptance call. While the difference between Toronto/Sundance and SXSW/Tribeca is pretty clear, what separates Toronto from Sundance might surprise you.
I looked at the data from the last two year’s of each festival and came up with one big conclusion. Sundance is the bigger festival for North American distribution on just about every measurable level I could come up with.
How could this be? Toronto is the more mainstream fest, right? Not so much.
Let’s start with some comparative info that would clearly skew things in Toronto’s favor:
-62.5% of films from TIFF 2013 have US distribution
-81.3% of films from SUNDANCE 2014 have US distribution (and remember this was accomplished in 9 months compared to TIFF’s 13 months)
But what about the box office performance?
Sundance has a higher percentage of films that grossed over $1 Million, $500,000, and $100,000 than TIFF. This is including non world premiere films which would give TIFF an advantage.
But what about the size of the deals? Isn’t TIFF where the big money is? Hardly
11 films from TIFF 2014 generated 7 figure deals, 11 films from TIFF 2013 did the same. The difference is TIFF screens 2.5x as many films. Even eliminating the # of films with US distribution before TIFF started and cutting out foreign language films, producers were still twice as likely to get a seven figure deal at Sundance.
The Documentary King
TIFF is a much more diverse slate, but sorely lacking in docs. Roughly 1/3 of Sundance films are documentaries, while only about 1/10 of TIFF films are. Even then, docs were more likely to get distribution out of Sundance than TIFF and by a very wide margin. 90% vs 52%. The majority of docs that made the Oscar shortlist came from Sundance, as have a majority of nominees in the last five years.
Foreign Language Problem
In contrast to their #1 status as a place to launch documentaries, Sundance’s World Cinema lineup is far from a sure bet.
While only 41% of Sundance 2014 World Dramatic films have US distribution, that percentage is still higher than foreign language films that screened at TIFF. The % is higher even if we include all foreign language films and not just world or international premieres at TIFF. So even in Sundance’s weakest area your odds are still better than at TIFF.
That all noted, TIFF receives some high profile foreign language films that will ultimately generate bigger deals and make a dent in the US box office, but those are few and far between in an already very unprofitable arena.
So What Does a TIFF Screening Mean?
TIFF does two things that Sundance does not. It functions as a worldwide market and it is a frequent must for awards buzz films.
Sundance films do better on a domestic level. TIFF films are more likely to generate some form of worldwide interest and the majority of major worldwide players are in attendance.
Sundance has an international presence, but nothing on the same level of going into the Hyatt and taking the United Nations tour of film booths.
Sundance also doesn’t take studio films, which TIFF does. I would argue this is part of the problem TIFF films face. The competition for attention is so much higher with studio films in the mix that many simply get lost in the shuffle.
The DIY Mindset
In the age of DIY options at very low cost, one has to wonder why so many films at TIFF didn’t take advantage of Vimeo’s $10k offer in 2013. In fact, 55 world premieres still lack US distribution, which means with 100% certainty they turned down $10k to chase a pipe dream of success.The worldwide sales agent aspect at TIFF makes it a lot harder to discuss DIY options, but things are slowly starting to change.
This year was the first time multiple filmmakers were willing to openly discuss DIY options for release with me during the fest.
Sundance has their Artist Services program and some very notable DIY success stories (Detropia, Indie Game: The Movie, Upstream Color etc). But the biggest difference is Sundance is early in the year. There are tons of festivals left with which to build exposure going into release.
While it is almost always advisable to hit the festival circuit running, if one didn’t do that at Sundance, it’s easier to rev up the process than at TIFF when the year is nearly finished. If you don’t pursue additional festival screenings right away, your film would play TIFF and not screen anywhere until the following year. Remember there aren’t a lot of festivals in November/December. By that point people have moved onto Sundance and don’t even remember what they saw at TIFF.
The Take Away
Don’t buy into the hype about a festival without carefully looking at the info. While many Oscar winners have come from TIFF, the stats don’t lie. For domestic success, your odds are better with Sundance. This doesn’t make TIFF a bad festival, it’s easily the 2nd best launch pad in North America, but it’s important to know that your film is more likely to get a distribution deal out of Tribeca than TIFF if you have a documentary.
The consensus from this year’s TIFF was that there weren’t too many hidden gems, but with 288 features would any of us even know? At a certain point size is a liability and I think that TIFF needs to shrink its slate or get more creative when it comes to highlighting world premieres without big names.
Reminder: EVOLUTION OF A CRIMINAL & THE CIRCLE
The Spike Lee executive produced Evolution of a Criminal opens in NYC Friday October 10th at IFC Center. They are also crowdfunding to support their nationwide theatrical release. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/948417025/evolution-of-a-criminal-theatrical-release
In partnership with Wolfe Releasing, TFC Direct will be theatrically releasing Switzerland’s Oscar entry, The Circle. It opens November 21st in NYC and will be expanding through beginning of 2015.
Bryan Glick October 9th, 2014
Posted In: Distribution, DIY, Film Festivals, Publicity
Tags: Bryan Glick, documentaries, film distribution, Film Festivals, film sales, international films, Sundance Film Festival, The Film Collaborative, Toronto International Film Festival
Sundance wrap up-Why give up revenue?
Sundance has come and gone and already Berlinale is a week away and SXSW announced the bulk of their slate today! We’ve now had a few days to reflect on the chaos that is arguably America’s most important film festival for indie film and here’s what we think.
Last year’s fest included a number of smaller foreign doc deals early on which is sorely lacking from this year. Only three docs have sold so far though all were decent sized deals and for films in the US Doc section. Interestingly, none of them won awards, but a number of other docs had TV deals arranged before the festival.
6 of the 16 US Dramatic films and 2 of the NEXT films sold. Sony/SPC, A24, Lionsgate/Roadside, Radius-TWC, Fox Searchlight, IFC, Magnolia all snapped up multiple films. However, previous players absent thus far are Anchor Bay, The Weinstein Company, CBS Films, Relativity Media, Sundance Selects, and Magnet. New distribution companies like Amplify did not make a single Sundance Deal nor did formally expanded ones such as Gravitas Ventures. This is probably the most alarming thing as every year a new distributor typically makes a big push for a film right out of the festival.
Before I get to the list of sales deals, I would like to talk about what I saw as a HUGE mistake! Consistently while attending documentary screenings at the festival, the filmmakers would say during the Q&A that they already had a team in place to arrange for special screenings or planning a self financed distribution scenario. NOT ONCE did this come up with the narrative filmmakers! One of the things TFC does is handle festival distribution for films, and most especially our service is applicable for films that premiered at a world class festival like Sundance. It is incredibly foolish not to capitalize on the publicity received at a world class festival by not planning for at least further festival screening revenue that will come right away. Should your film be in the lucky position of receiving a seven figure deal upfront, you might be able to afford to pull it from the festival circuit and forego further revenue, but with very FEW receiving those offers, why not plan for scooping up that immediate revenue potential?
I am not saying you have to go with TFC for festival distribution (though even traditional distributors turn to us to handle their films on the festival circuit and they take their cut of the screening fees), but I am saying you should have some sort of team in place to take advantage of those opportunities right away. By the time SXSW is finished in March, your film could already have booked $5k in festival screening fees on the circuit. Blood Brother had a dozen festivals under its belt by that point last year and many of the films at this year’s festival could do the same. Why aren’t they?
Now…on to the deals.
DOMESTIC/NORTH AMERICAN
Dead Snow Red vs. Dead: Well Go USA picked up US rights. The film will be released in an all English version.
Love is Strange: Sony Picture Classics (SPC) snagged Ira Sach’s follow up to Keep the Lights On
The One I Love: Radius-TWC paid about $2 Mil
Fed Up: Radius-TWC paid under $2 Mil for worldwide rights. This is bigger than what any documentary sold for at last year’s Sundance.
The Babadook; IFC Midnight
Cold in July: IFC took North American rights for $2 Mil
God’s Pocket: IFC has US rights
Calvary: Fox Searchlight signed on for the US and a few other territories for $2.5 mil
Obvious Child: A24 signed for low 7 figures for North America
I Origins: Fox Searchlight took worldwide rights for $3mil to Mike Cahill’s follow up for the splendid and under appreciated Another Earth
The Skeleton Twins: Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/SPW joined together for $3.5 mil
Land Ho!: SPC took worldwide rights to the film that should travel well in European territories.
Frank: Magnolia saw through the fake head and bought it for North America for low 7 figures
Life After Beth: A24/DirectTV joined up for $3.5 Mil for US rights
Cooties: Lionsgate will spread the infection throughout North America.
Whiplash: SPC felt the beat for just under $3 Mil and Sony Worldwide has most international territories
Wish I was Here: the newly rebooted Focus Features took for $2.75 Mil (Film was partially financed on Kickstarter)
Laggies: A24 acquired domestic rights for roughly $2 Mil
Cesar’s Last Fast: Participant Media/Univision sold TV rights for Mid 6 figures
Dinosaur 13: Lionsgate/CNN went in for about $1 Mil
Happy Christmas: Magnolia/Paramount couldn’t say no to Swanberg. Magnolia also distributed his film Drinking Buddies.
PRE BUYS
Mitt: Netflix will release it in a week
Wetlands: Strand
The Raid 2: SPC
Love Child: HBO
Private Violence: HBO
The Case Against 8: HBO
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart: HBO
Ivory Tower: CNN Films
Life Itself: CNN Films
Remembering the Artist: HBO
The Trip to Italy: IFC
The Signal: Focus
FOREIGN
Love is Strange: Pretty Pictures made a six figure deal for French distribution
The Green Prince: Curzon and Madman Entertainment brokered for UK, Australia, and New Zealand
Bryan Glick January 30th, 2014
Posted In: Distribution, Film Festivals, International Sales
Tags: Bryan Glick, festival distribution, film distribution, film sales, independent film, self financed distribution, Sundance wrap up, The Film Collaborative
TIFF Wrap Up: What does Toronto offer?
The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival has come and gone. The Oscar race has started and films from the festival are opening theatrically this week (Prisoners, Enough Said). From the press circuit, you might think that only films starring Oscar nominees or made by Vegas magicians were in the festival, but those films represent only a small sampling of the diverse array of cinema from the festival.
Over the course of my 9 days, I saw 47 films from 19 different countries on 6 continents. While some of these films such as Metalhead have yet to secure a US distributor, they have been able to close a number of other territories and directors and talent have signed with major agencies.
If your film is star driven and could warrant a wide release, the fest can serve as a great launch pad. The fact remains though that the fest will never be in competition with Sundance where more challenging fare is able to be discovered. In fact, fewer than five films from the discovery, contemporary world cinema, and wavelength sections were acquired for US distribution over the course of the festival. Proportionately the festival also offers very little room for documentaries. Of the 288 features in the festival, fewer than 15% are documentaries.
To be fair, several films were able to close deals for multiple territories, but were not able to get a US distributor as of the time of this writing, and of course many films will secure distribution in the coming month. I did not get the sense of urgency at this year’s festival though there were a few all night negotiations and about a dozen films that sold for seven figures. That sounds like a lot until you realize Sundance had more films passing that benchmark despite having about ½ as many films available.
If I was a filmmaker I would personally be very wary of premiering my film at TIFF without stars.
The big players at the festival were The Weinstein Company and Roadside Attractions. TWC made the flashier deals nabbing Tracks out of Venice/Telluride for an undisclosed sum, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her for just over $3,000,000, The Railway Man for $2,000,000 and the behemoth deal for Can a Song save Your Life. That film sold for $7,000,000 with a $20,000,000 P&A commitment. On paper this may seem absurd, but the movie is a musical with original songs and, considering the director’s prior feature won an Oscar for best original song, there is certainly an added revenue stream for the film. If you see the film though, it is also clear that TWC has to be careful in how they price the music, charging more than a specific dollar amount goes directly against the message of the film.
All four of these films will not be released until 2014. TWC already had Philomena, August Osage County, One Chance, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom in the festival, plus their Radius label had The Art of the Steal, Man of Tai Chi, Blue Ruin, and The Unknown Known. Unlike last year, Radius did not strike for any films at the festival.
Roadside Attractions came to the festival with Blood Ties and Gloria (Both North American premieres) and left with Life of Crime for $2,000,000, Joe for north of $2,000,000, Words and Pictures, and Therese. The first two are in partnership with Lionsgate. The total of four films is one shy of the five films they nabbed last year, but still makes them one of the two most active distributors at the festival.
A24 was another company that made a big splash acquiring for over $1,000,000 each Enemy, Under the Skin, and Locke. Locke screened in Venice and a TIFF market screening, but was not in the festival. The company that has had continued success connecting to the millennial generation seems to be guiding themselves toward genre fare.
Magnolia acquired The Right Kind of Wrong ahead of its world premiere and also acquired The Sacrament. Their films Pioneer and How I Live Now were in the festival.
Open Road is tackling The Green Inferno for wide release, but with no MG. They are partnering with XLRator on All is By My Side. Relativity Media meanwhile decided to partner with Blumhouse Productions to acquire Oculus from the Midnight Madness section and is planning a wide release. The film was originally attached to Film District, but they parted ways just prior to the start of the festival
Focus Features acquired Jason Bateman helmed Bad Words for north of $7,000,000 and premiered Dallas Buyers Club.
Millennium and CBS also made big buys. The former acquired Fading Gigolo for $2,000,000+ and the latter paid $2.5 Mill for The F Word
On the TV side, Showtime snagged Made in America and HBO went for Dangerous Acts before they world premiered at the festival.
IFC just acquired Hateship Loveship and IFC Midnight (The genre arm of IFC) went for Proxy and The Station. Their sister division Sundance Selects added Bastards and Finding Vivian Maier prior to the festival. IFC/Sundance Selects had another 5 films that screened at the fest including the world premiere of The Face of Love.
Well Go USA was able to get Rigor Mortis pre-fest and McCanick during the fest. McCanick is one of the final films starring the late Cory Monteith. Drafthouse Films continued their pursuit of genre films with Why Don’t You Play in Hell?.
A small number of foreign language films were able to secure distribution in the States. Cohen Media Group grabbed the documentary The Last of the Unjust, Artsploitation said, yes sir to The Major, Film Movement went for Le Demantlement, Viva Pictures decided to play with Antboy, and Tribeca scored Bright Days Ahead
Other deals include EOne acquiring Watermark, FilmBuff scoring the one digital deal of the festval with TFC Alum, Jody Shapiro’s doc Burt’s Buzz. Everyday Pictures will handle the theatrical. And of course Disney continued their relationship with the now retired Anime icon for The Wind Rises
Companies that were noticeably absent in the acquisitions department at the festival include Fox Searchlight, Oscilloscope, and Anchor Bay.
40 films secured US distribution between the festival slate being announced and the time of this writing. This is great, but pales in comparison to Sundance numbers, and is noticeably ahead of Tribeca’s. The Midnight Madness and Gala sections are the only ones in which over ½ the films have US distributors attached. The Special Presentation and TIFF DOCS sections are also well represented.
Now I want to address the issue of manners and etiquette. While talking on your phone or doing screen grabs during a screening is rude, it does not warrant calling the cops.
There were some very troubling scenes to me at this year’s festival. At no point is it acceptable to yell and curse at volunteers. They are merely doing what they are told and are graciously helping all of us partake in our fabulous festival excursion. If you have to say, “Do You Know Who I Am?” not only do we not know who you are, but you aren’t important enough that it matters. Also, though most of us were taught how to line up and wait patiently in kindergarten, it is common courtesy to do this when people have waited an hour in line for a screening. Do not shove your way through the corn maze line to go near the front.
And if someone from your company is lucky enough to attend the fest freelance, do not turn them into your workslave. If you wanted to send them to the festival, you could have paid for them to be there.
Remember, we have the best jobs in the world and a little decency goes a long way.
| Film | Distributor | Amount Paid | Territories |
| Locke | A24 | $1.25 Mil | US |
| Enemy | A24 | low seven figures | US |
| Under the Skin | A24 | $1 Mll + | US |
| The Major | Artsploitation | US | |
| The F Word | CBS Films | $2.5 Mil | US |
| The Last of the Unjust | Cohen Media Group | North America | |
| The Wind Rises | Disney | North America | |
| Why Don’t You Play in Hell | Drafthouse Films | US | |
| Watermark | Eone | US, Canada | |
| Le Demantlement | Film Movement | US/World Airlines | |
| Burt’s Buzz | FilmBuff/Everyday Pictures | US | |
| Bad Words | Focus Features | $7 Million | Worldwide |
| Dangerous Acts | HBO | US TV | |
| Hateship Loveship | IFC | US | |
| Proxy | IFC Midnight | North America | |
| The Station | IFC Midnight | US | |
| The Right Kind of Wrong | Magnolia | US | |
| The Sacrement | Magnolia Pictures | US | |
| Fading Gigolo | Millennium Entertainment | Btwn-$2-3 Mil | US |
| The Green Inferno | Open Road Films | No MG | North America |
| All Is By My Side | Open Road Films/XLRator | US | |
| Oculus | Relativity/Blumhouse Productions | US | |
| Words and Pictures | Roadside Attractions | US | |
| Therese | Roadside Attractions | US | |
| Joe | Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate | $2 Mil + | US |
| Life of Crime | Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate | $2 Mil | US |
| Made in America | Showtime | US TV | |
| Tim’s Vermeer | SPC | Worldwide | |
| The Armstrong Lie | SPC | Worldwide | |
| Finding Vivian Maeir | Sundance Selects | North America | |
| Bastards | Sundance Selects | US | |
| Eleanor Rigby Him and Her | The Weinstein Company | About $3 Mil | US/UK/FR/CA |
| The Railway Man | The Weinstein Company | $2 Mil | US |
| Can a Song Save Your Life | The Weinstein Company | $7 Million | US |
| Tracks | The Weinstein Company | US | |
| Bright Days Ahead | Tribeca Films | US | |
| Antboy | Viva Pictures | US | |
| McCanick | Well Go USA | US | |
| Rigor Mortis | Well Go USA | US |
Bryan Glick September 19th, 2013
Posted In: Film Festivals
Tags: A24, Artsploitation, Bryan Glick, CBS Films, Cohen Media Group, Drafthouse Films, EOne, Film Buff, film distribution, Film Movement, film sales, Focus Features, IFC, independent film, Magnolia, Open Road, Relativity Media, Roadside Attractions, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film, Viva Pictures, Weinstein Company, Well Go
TIFF Riff Part 2-Positives, Negatives and Vimeo
TIFF IS HERE! Let the craziness (And the Jewish new year) begin! I figured I would split this into the good and bad from how films performed at last year’s fests. If you’re playing in the Contemporary World Cinema or Discovery section you might want to run to Vimeo ASAP, but more on that later. Let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?
Five positives to highlight from last year
- Midnight Madness Acquisitions
- Every film in the Midnight Madness section was acquired for domestic distribution and many (Lords of Salem, Aftershock) were for seven figure deals. The simple fact is that the horror audience is incredibly loyal. It is arguably the most loyal and consistent substantial audience that exists. It’s also often critic-proof, which is not the case for a downbeat drama.
- Black and White Film
- Frances Ha and Much Ado About Nothing were both arguably risky ventures despite the notoriety of people behind and in front of the lens. Both films were shot in black and white and rely on indie celebrity status for marketing. That said, each has grossed over $4,000,000 at the domestic box office. Frances Ha is IFC’s highest grossing film this year and Much Ado About Nothing is Roadside’s best box office performer from their long list of acquisitions at last year’s festival.
- Best Performers
- A number of smaller specialty distributors had their highest grossing US films to date come from 2012 festival acquisitions. Many of these films would not scream top box office though. One is arguably a massive disappointment.
- Cinema Guild took Museum Hours which has since grossed over $300,000. The film has been nothing if not a marvel, having passed the $200,000 mark before even opening in LA. For a company known for challenging foreign fare and documentaries, this film is no exception, but has clearly connected with audiences.
- Well Go USA took some action from abroad to the tune of just under $700k in the US via The Thieves. For a company based in Plano, TX that has to be a record.
- Drafthouse Films did so well with the documentary Act of Killing that TIFF is giving them a panel to explain their distribution strategy. HINT…GO…Tim League is one of the most entertaining people you will hear speak in any capacity. He is also usually quite candid and unpredictable. This film looks to top out at just under $500,000…over 300% above their next highest box office performer.
- Entertainment One’s expansion into the US box office has been a poor to mixed bag (not to worry though, they kind of dominate everywhere else). A Late Quartet stars Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, but tepid reviews and no awards traction capped the film at around $1.5 Mil. Still, it’s their best performer in the States.
- Cohen Media Group specializes in handling foreign films. They specifically seem to like ones from France. Yet their highest grosser is from Lebanon (with French backing of course). The Attack is still going strong at the box office with $1.6 Mil in revenue and likely to add another $250,000 or so before it wraps. It’s only a matter of time before they pass the $2,000,000 mark with a film.
- A number of smaller specialty distributors had their highest grossing US films to date come from 2012 festival acquisitions. Many of these films would not scream top box office though. One is arguably a massive disappointment.
- Israel
- The Attack, The Gatekeepers, and Fill the Void all have something in common. They were at least partially shot in Israel and have all grossed over $1,000,000 in the US. In addition, Hannah Arendt has grossed over $600,000 which is particularly impressive when compared with other Zeitgeist releases of the past few years. While Eagles failed to attract buyer interest, Israel continues to be arguably the most reliable foreign language performer in the US. I would say it’s France, but their film industry is much more robust. Many of their top films will never come here and I can’t say that with Israel. To put it another way, the US box office total combined for these four films would be equal to $1 donation from every Israeli citizen.
- HBO Docs
- Sheila, Sheila, Sheila. If you don’t know her name, you clearly don’t know squat about the Docs. Mea Maxima Culpa premiered at the fest and was one of only two TV Docs to get on the Oscar shortlist (the other one, Ethel, was also an HBO Doc). HBO paid big and got the two most star studded docs of the festival, Love, Marilyn and Casting By. For documentaries, TV continues to be the major power player and nobody ponied up more money for a Doc at the fest than HBO did when they partnered with Cinedigm for Love, Marilyn. Sale price was between $1.25 million and $1.75 million.
Five negatives to highlight from last year
- Midnight Madness Box Office
- Dredd was a giant studio disappointment and major money loser after opening in the US on 2500 screens with a PSA of $3426. Reported production budget was $50mil, but pulled in a worldwide BO gross of a little over $35mil. Eli Roth’s Aftershock never took off on digital or theatrically where it opened to a PSA under $500 and failed to gross over $100k. Come Out and Play meanwhile couldn’t even pass $5k. Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem managed over $1,000,000 after buyer Anchor Bay capitalized on publicity surrounding Zombie’s new book and album, but still didn’t justify the acquisitions price (reportedly $2mil) and bidding war for the title.
- Films with Title Changes
- Girl Most Likely and Stuck in Love are both star driven comedies that originated with horridly bland titling (Imogene and Writers respectively). Despite the attempts of Roadside Attractions and Millenium Entertainment to rebrand the films, both are each company’s lowest performing TIFF acquisition. Girl Most Likely saw grosses drop 72% in its second weekend and Stuck in Love will not even pass $100k. Both films saw much better results on VOD, but at the end of the day, compared to top performing acquisitions titles from these players, both can be considered disappointments. Meanwhile TWC’s Unfinished Songs (Formerly Songs for Marion) has barely outgrossed their Norwegian epic Kon-Tiki. EEK!
- African and Eastern European Cinema
- A look at the films that failed to secure distribution last year and it becomes clear that buyers were not enjoying anything from the entire continent of Africa. I mean literally, THE ENTIRE CONTINENT! There was not a Tsotsi in the bunch.
- Award winning films without distribution going into the festival
- Artifact won the audience award for best doc, the Fipresci prize went to Detroit Unleaded and both have yet to find a home in the States. Artifact will all but certainly go DIY and who knows what the future holds for Detroit Unleaded which does not have the benefit of name recognition or Jared Leto’s face.
- The lack of prominent DIY and Alt distribution models
- Spring Breakers was a pact between the producers and A24. There were otherwise no prominent examples of DIY releasing, hybrid theatrical or new ideas that sprung out of the festival. Yes, Snoop Lion self-released his doc Reincarnated, but that was to disastrous results and the doc was nothing more than a vanity project.
- Clearly, the fest knew things had to change based on Tuesday’s announcement. In case you’ve been living under a rock or stuck in Venice, Vimeo has offered a game changer to films that will world premiere at TIFF. A $10,000 MG to the films that give Vimeo a 30 day premiere VOD window. If the film makes back the $10k before the 30 days, it switches to their standard and by all accounts fantastic 90/10 split. Yes, YOU get to keep 90%! Any film that’s not a star vehicle would be a fool not to take them up on the offer, especially since they can still seek acquisition. In fact, a smart distributor will see all the free press they will get from the publicity and look for the films that say yes. Naturally, I expect most to do the opposite and argue that the lost revenue will require them to lower their offers. That should be a red flag to any filmmaker if it happens. Similarly, if a sales agent is telling you to pass, so that your film from Croatia can wait for the American dollars to pour in, you should terminate your relationship on the spot! No word yet though on what happens for the films that did the 1-2 punch and premiered at Locarno or Venice.
BONUS
Congratulations to TFC alums with films in the festival.
- Amy Seimetz (Pit Stop) stars in Ti West’s latest flick The Sacrament.
- Jody Shapiro (How to Start Your Own Country) directed Burt’s Buzz
- James Franco (Kink and Interior. Leather Bar) wrote, directed and stars in Child of God, wrote the source material for and stars in Palo Alto, and stars in Third Person. More impressive is the fact that he has had films at Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, Venice, and Toronto this year.
I’ll be on the ground in Toronto again this year and hope to report back about my findings and the deals made.
Below is a list of films from TIFF and how they’ve performed at the box office. I chose not to include any film that was from a studio or mini major and opened wide. I also chose not to include films that premiered at Berlin, Sundance, or SXSW and had already secured distribution.
| Film | Distributor | Box Office Gross |
| Come Out and Play | Cinedigm | $2,638 |
| What Richard Did | Tribeca Film | $2,749 |
| Inescapable | IFC | $4,327 |
| The Time Being | Tribeca Film | $5,274 |
| The Brass Teapot | Magnolia | $6,997 |
| Inch’Allah | EOne | $9,155 |
| I Declare War | Drafthouse Films | $10,793 |
| Greetings from Tim Buckley | Tribeca Film | $11,157 |
| Viola | Cinema Guild | $15,471 |
| The ABC’s of Death | Magnet | $21,832 |
| Pieta | Drafthouse Films | $22,080 |
| The Patience Stone | SPC | $23,296 |
| Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story | First Run | $27,156 |
| The Bay | Roadside Attractions | $30,668 |
| Berberian Sound Studio | IFC | $31,641 |
| How To Make Money Selling Drugs | Tribeca Film | $39,192 |
| Passion | Entertainment One | $40,100 |
| The Fitzgerald Family Christmas | Tribeca Film | $50,292 |
| Venus & Serena | Magnolia | $51,271 |
| Aftershock | Radius-TWC | $58,510 |
| More than Honey | Kino Lorber | $66,728 |
| Leviathan | Cinema Guild | $72,816 |
| Something in the Air | $73,306 | |
| No One Lives | Anchor Bay | $74,918 |
| Stuck In Love (Formerly Writers) | Millenium Entertainment | $81,071 |
| Byzantium | IFC | $85,252 |
| Storm Surfers 3D | Xlrator | $117,090 |
| Free Angela and All Political Prisoners | Code Black | $129,102 |
| Midnight’s Children | Paladin/108 Media | $190,022 |
| No Place on Earth | Magnolia | $200,238 |
| Arthur Newman | Cinedigm | $207,853 |
| Tai Chi 0 | Variance/Well Go USA | $212,094 |
| Blancanieves | Cohen Media Group | $240,310 |
| Museum Hours | Cinema Guild | $304,145 |
| A Werewolf Boy | CJ | $342,922 |
| Act of Killing | Drafthouse Films | $379,598 |
| At Any Price | SPC | $380,594 |
| In the House | Cohen Media Group | $389,757 |
| A Hijacking | Magnolia | $401,366 |
| The Reluctant Fundamentalist | IFC | $528,731 |
| Still Mine (formerly Still) | Samuel Goldwyn | $586,767 |
| To The Wonder | Magnolia | $587,615 |
| Hannah Arendt | Zeitgeist | $636,505 |
| The Thieves | Well Go USA | $685,839 |
| Lore | Music Box Films | $970,325 |
| From Up on Poppy Hill | GK | $1,002,895 |
| Ginger & Rosa | A24 | $1,012,973 |
| What Maise Knew | Millenium Entertainment | $1,065,000 |
| The Lords of Salem | Anchor Bay | $1,165,882 |
| Girl Most Likely (Formerly Imogene) | Roadside Attractions | $1,377,015 |
| Disconnect | LD | $1,436,900 |
| Kon-Tiki | TWC | $1,517,410 |
| A Late Quartet | Entertainment One | $1,562,546 |
| The Attack | Cohen Media Group | $1,580,787 |
| Stories We Tell | Roadside Attractions | $1,584,890 |
| Love is All You Need | SPC | $1,608,982 |
| Unifnished Song (Formerly Song for Marion) | TWC | $1,634,532 |
| Fill the Void | SPC | $1,757,195 |
| English Vinglish | Eros | $1,862,086 |
| The Iceman | Millenium Entertainment | $1,943,239 |
| The Gatekeepers | SPC | $2,415,727 |
| Emperor | Roadside Attractions | $3,346,265 |
| Frances Ha | IFC | $4,043,502 |
| Much Ado about Nothing | Roadside Attractions | $4,262,205 |
| The Company You Keep | SPC | $5,133,027 |
| Hyde Park on Hudson | Focus | $6,376,145 |
| Anna Karenina | Focus | $12,816,367 |
| Spring Breakers | A24 | $14,124,284 |
| The Master | TWC | $16,377,274 |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Summit | $17,742,948 |
| Quartet | TWC | $18,390,117 |
| The Impossible | Summit | $18,889,600 |
| The Place Beyond the Pines | Focus | $21,403,519 |
| Silver Linings Playbook | TWC | $129,729,000 |
| Clip | Artsploitation | BO Not Reported |
| Pusher | Radius-TWC | BO Not Reported |
| Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp | Phase 4 | BO Not Reported |
| Janeane from Des Moines | Red Flag Releasing | BO Not Reported |
| Reincarnated | DIY | BO Not Reported |
| State 194 | Participant Media | BO Not Reported |
| The Secret Disco Revolution | Screen Media | BO Not Reported |
| Wasteland | Oscilloscope | BO Not Reported |
| The Lesser Blessed | Monterey Media | BO Not Reported |
| Motorway | Media Asia Films | Digital Only |
| Everybody Has a Plan | 20th Century Fox | Digital Only |
| London-The Modern Babylon | Brittish Film Institute | Digital Only |
| Lunarcy! | Epix | Digital Only |
| Camp 14 – Total Control Zone | Netflix | Digital Streaming |
| Picture Day | Arc Entertainment | Digital/DVD only |
| My Awkward Sexual Adventure | Tribeca Film | Digital/DVD only |
| The Deep | Focus World | Digital/DVD only |
| Bad 25 | ABC | TV |
| 9.79 | ESPN | TV |
| Casting By | HBO | TV |
| First Comes Love | HBO | TV |
| Love, Marilyn | HBO | TV |
| A Liar’s Autobiography | Epix | TV |
| Mea Maxima Culpa | HBO | TV |
| Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out | Showtime/Gravitas | TV/Digital |
| Jayne Mansfield’s Car | Anchor Bay | Not Yet Released |
| The Last Time I Saw Macao | Cinema Guild | Not Yet Released |
| Men At Lunch | First Run | Not Yet Released |
| Out in the Dark | Breaking Glass | Not Yet Released |
| Thanks For Sharing | Roadside Attractions | Not Yet Released |
| Zaytoun | Strand Releasing | Not Yet Released |
| Shepard & Dark | Music Box Films | Not Yet Released |
| Capital | Cohen Media Group | Not Yet Released |
| Mekong Hotel | Strand Releasing | Not Yet Released |
| Three Worlds | Film Movement | Not Yet Released |
| Ghost Graduation | Fox | Not Yet Released |
| The End of Time | Sony Pictures Worldwide | Not Yet Released |
| Great Expectations | Outsource Media Group | Not Yet Released |
| Twice Born | Entertainment One | Not Yet Released |
| The Deflowering of Eva Van End | Film Movement | Not Yet Released |
Bryan Glick September 5th, 2013
Posted In: Distribution, Film Festivals
Tags: <u, A Late Quartet, Act of Killing, Aftershock, Artifact, Casting By, Come Out and Play, Detroit Unleaded, distribution, Dredd, Eagles, film sales, Frances Ha, Girl Most Likely, independent film, Lords of Salem, Love, Marilyn, Mea Maxima Culpa, Midnight Madness, Much Ado About Nothing, Museum Hours, Reincarnated, Spring Breakers, Stuck in Love, The Attack, The Thieves, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Unfinished Songs, Vimeo
TIFF RIFF Part One-The Numbers, Advice, and Excitement
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) starts this week and I will be there for almost the entire festival where I anticipate seeing 45-50 films before I depart. TIFF is not a film festival; it is a giant marathon that is almost beyond comprehension. If you believe that more is better, then this is the place to be. Think of TIFF as an 11 course film meal anchored by spam on steroids!
photo credit chensiyuan
Last year’s festival had 289 features (More than Sundance and SXSW combined!). Of these films, just over ½ (146) were world premieres. Less than 60% of total films at the festival, as well as fewer than 60% of world premieres, have managed to secure US distribution as of this writing. It’s important to note that the films at the fest came from 72 different countries and certain locales (USA, Israel) fared much better than others (All of Africa). Given that this is a major international festival, several films were able to secure international territories even if US distribution proved elusive.
Part of what makes the festival so large is the presence of studio films that take up a lot of the press, along with several North American Premieres from Cannes (36), Venice (16), and Locarno (9). Combined these films make up over 20% of the festival. 41 films or a little over 14% from the 2012 festival grossed over $1,000,000 theatrically in the States. While the number of films in total is quite impressive, the percentage puts it right in line with last year’s Sundance crop. Of these films, ½ a dozen were studio releases and really don’t belong in the total. Another ½ dozen premiered at Cannes, Berlin, or Sundance.
The world premieres fared slightly better with 16% surpassing the same benchmark. But if the studio films were removed from the equation, they drop to 13%, and of those, slightly more than half came to the fest with distribution attached.
So, why all the boring and headache inducing number? I think that with its start of the Oscar campaign season and studio gems, the festival often gets a distorted reputation. While it’s a great place to be if you’re a star driven vehicle, the reality is that there is an entire Sundance film festival worth of films that have yet to get distribution in the States!
The festival has a much larger international presence and many of these films have since been released in upwards of two dozen countries, even with the largest film market never coming into play. While the vast majority of these films are foreign and many are from countries that don’t have sizable diaspora populations in the States, several English language films still are struggling to find a way to release. “Detroit Unleaded” is the perfect example. It’s one of the few American films to be left behind, even though it won an award at the festival. Of course with over 4,000 submissions, the odds are still stacked against you getting into the people’s festival.
I want to talk about the two real problems of TIFF. One is easily fixable and the other is not.
First, nobody at TIFF is thinking outside the box when it comes to distribution. Almost all of the films were traditional acquisitions (“Much Ado About Nothing”) or self-funded DIY vanity projects (Snoop Dogg’s “Reincarnated”). Percentage wise, more films from Tribeca and SXSW will see the light of the day because they had a plan B or C. They were open to DIY or non-theatrical distribution. For everyone who is going to TIFF, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t wait for that giant offer to come, because unless your film stars Ryan Gosling or has been deemed Oscar bait, the major payoff isn’t going to happen. Similarly, the festival is in September and there are no major US festivals till January. So you should already have your US premiere strategy thought out to help compensate for the months and months where you will not be able to generate press.
The other problem is simply the gluttony of films competing for attention. TIFF is simply not going to show fewer films. I wish they would consider it, so that movies playing can get more attention, or just cut all but one or two studio films from their roster. Since the gluttony of choices gives them major revenue and prestige, that is unlikely to happen. If you’re going to TIFF, this means you MUST have a stellar publicist and be ready to talk to anybody and everybody that you can. Promote the hell out of your film. Without fail, almost all the American non-star driven indies that go are too slow to set up their social media operation. Toronto is only a small body of water away from the States and I encourage you to let the world know early and often about your film.
I personally LOVE TIFF. Last year I saw so many incredible films there, and I’m not just talking about Oscar darling “Argo”. There were so many mind-blowingly wonderful films I stumbled upon, some of which have distribution and one film that hasn’t even screened in the States yet.
I look forward to discovering more of the hidden gems this year at the festival and am happy to meet with any filmmakers to discuss how to connect their wondrous visions with audiences around the world.
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 will look at how specific films performed
Bryan Glick September 3rd, 2013
Posted In: Film Festivals, International Sales
Tags: Bryan Glick, film distribution, Film Festivals, film sales, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival
Tribeca 2012 Distribution Report Card
It seems like just yesterday I was reporting to you on SXSW and in the ever expanding festival circuit it is now time to fly over to the start of the Tribeca Film Festival. This still very young festival takes a much different approach than SXSW by having an industry office, press and industry screenings, they have a distribution branch and help to support the releases of a number of films from the festival each year.
Despite all of that, the festival suffers from a number of shortcomings. It is so close to Cannes (and its massive market) that the festival can be easy to dismiss. Tribeca Film buys so many movies from their festival that it makes it even less desirable to buyers. And finally there is the NYC problem. It can be hard to get local industry to attend and network when they are just happy to be home for a change. Similarly for those of us in from out of town, the city offers a wealth of other options that serve as distractions when we should be singularly immersed in film. I’m not going to lie, there are some films I will not be seeing because I got comps to see Kinky Boots (Which is at least based on an indie film).
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival saw two documentaries gross about $2 million each. Both of those films (Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Magnolia) & Bully (TWC)) were rare exceptions to the rule, but are at least worth citing in terms of the potential for a breakout film to premiere at the festival. 2012 has yet to produce a film that grossed over $500k theatrically and only Struck By Lightning could really be labeled a VOD hit.
That said, the 2012 crop made clear that the festival can be a great launchpad for LGBT films and also documentaries. Four films that premiered at the festival last year and did not have distribution attached have gone on to gross $100k or more. Both narrative films that accomplished this feat feature gay story lines. Any Day Now which won the Audience award at the fest (and basically every other fest it played at) has grossed over $200k theatrically in North America courtesy of Music Box Films.
Strand meanwhile took on Yossi the sort of sequel to the Israeli military love story Yossi and Jagger, which they released over a decade ago. Yossi has grossed over $116k and is still playing in theaters, meanwhile the former has seen its DVD sales sky rocket in light of the release. Yossi was a smart follow up on the part of Strand Releasing.
On the documentary side, The Flat showed the strength of Israeli subject matter and is the highest grossing film from the fest last year with a total of $471,842. It was released by Sundance Selects and outperformed a number of high profile Sundance docs.
Tribeca Films, which is really at its heart an ulta-vod label, handled a number of films. More so than any other company that was active at last year’s festival. The theatrical box office numbers for these films are largely abysmal. Newlyweds, Supporting Characters, Rubberneck, Booker’s Place, and The Giant Mechanical Man have all grossed under $10k meaning that more people saw them at the festival than saw them in their entire theatrical window. Their one ray of light is Struck By Lightning which while only producing a box office total of $28,378 is on track to do over $1,000,000 on VOD. That thanks in no small part to the loyalty of Glee fans and the trendy TV star filled cast.
It is also worth noting that Tribeca Film distributed Oscar nominee War Witch. The Canadian Foreign Oscar entry was an Award Winner at Berlin, but was not bought until it had its North American premiere at Tribeca. It has grossed $67,425 to date but still has almost 20 markets left to open in.
Magnolia was also an active buyer, they came to the festival with Jack and Diane which grossed a paltry $1,142, and also acquired The Good Doctor ($5,206) and Deadfall which towered above the other two with a still modest $64,241.
Key doc distributors found modest success across the board at the fest. The Revisionaries grossed just under $20k with Kino Lorber behind it, Paladin heralded Mansome, the latest from profilic doc filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, to the tune of $36,280 and Cinedigm had one of its largest grossers with Don’t Stop Believin: Everyman’s Journey. It’s still in theaters and has managed just under $60k with a number of theaters yet to play
A number of films pursued some form of self-distribution to varying success. TFC client The Playroom partnered with Freestyle and has grossed slightly over $5k. Sexy Baby and Fame High had DIY theatricals, but did not report grosses. Burn is easily the most successful having grossed $111,300 in addition to special screenings all over the country in rapid succession that have been going on for months. The mix of traditional exhibition and large event screenings has swept the film across the country.
IFC was a big buyer, but many of their films have yet to be released, now a year later. Cheerful for the Wedding and Knife Fight were both disappointments grossing under $10k theatrically. They did not report box office grosses for IFC Midnight’s In Their Skin (originally called Replicas), but it is now available on Amazon VOD and DVD.
The Girl, starring Abbie Cornish has grossed just over $35k so far since being released by Brainstorm Media.
Films coming out soon include Drafthouse Film’s Graceland, Factory 25’s Future Weather, Wreckin Hill’s While We were Here, Arc’s Stand Off (formerly Whole Lotta Sole), Film Movement’s Room 514, and Sony Woldwide’s star studded Revenge For Jolly!
At present, about 60% of premieres from last year’s fest have some form of distribution in place for the US. That places it only slightly behind SXSW, but ahead of juggernaut Toronto International Film Festival. For the filmmakers, premiering at the festival, I encourage you to be patient and diligent. The top box office performers in most cases were not bought until after Cannes. Better to be slow for the win, than rush and wind up losing in the end.
I look forward to seeing you all at Tribeca Film Festival 2013!
BONUS: DOCUMENTARY POWER
As with SXSW, about 20% of features raised at least some form of funds through crowd funding. The documentary Bridegroom is premiering at this year’s festival and raised a pre- Veronica Mars – stunning total of $384,375! The film is helmed by TV legend Linda Bloodworth Thomason.
Bryan Glick April 17th, 2013
Posted In: Digital Distribution, Distribution, Film Festivals, Theatrical
Tags: film sales, Israeli film, LGBT film, theatrical distribution of film, Tribeca Film, Tribeca Film Festival
Premiere to Release-Why does it take so long?
Written by Orly Ravid
Now that Sundance has announced its new line up, it seems appropriate to discuss the issue of a film’s distribution after premiering or acquisition at festivals.
It is often the case that films do not get released until 6 months to a year or even more from when the film had its festival premiere…At least this is the case when traditional distribution is pursued as opposed to planning the distribution and marketing to coincide with the premiere and work off that plan accordingly.
Here are 10 reasons for the delay in time between a premiere launch at a festival and traditional distribution into the marketplace:
1. The time it takes to find buyers. These days the market cycle is longer than it’s ever been. Sometimes even a year after a festival or market, sometimes longer to sell titles. It’s a buyer’s market, so few films enjoy the pleasure of contested bidding that forces prices up and faster closings. Sundance, of course, is one of the few festivals that commands such a dynamic and more films than at most other festivals will secure distribution, at least domestically, as a result of premiering there.
2. Once a deal is closed, then there’s the contract and delivery which takes time… months sometimes.
3. Long lead times for press are required, at least four months, and that planning usually does not happen until after deal closure.
4. The distributor needs time to find open slots/appropriate slots in the calendar for theatrical – and it’s competitive out there so getting a booking takes time, and getting the right one for the film takes even more time, again, months. Sometimes even 6 months is needed to book the right theatre for the right time.. Some of the best screens are locked in well in advance.
5. Cash flow is needed to launch marketing campaigns. This can be an issue for some distributors. Recouping some revenue from previous releases will be needed in order to fund future ones.
6. Major digital outlets take several months to upload and make a film available. Cable VOD has solicitation windows. DVD and digital also require set up times and announcing the title and marketing it ahead of time so again months of planning and slotting. One wants to be strategic about release time.
7. The time of release is sometimes specific to the film. It may be theme driven and demand specific timing or it may want to avoid direct competition. Also inventory shifts in retail stores dictate the optimal time for DVD release (ie. certain times of year, like Christmas or Halloween, call for more of a certain kind of film).
8. Internal scheduling of the distributor. As you know, distributors will have other releases that they need to navigate given what their key outlets have planned.
9. Grass roots and other marketing also demand lead time.
10. Overall, the difference between DIY and traditional distribution is that in DIY, you can plan months in advance to set up the outlets and use the press attention at a festival premiere to catapult the film into the market, even if you aren’t 100% sure which festival will be your premiere. Having everything in place to pull the trigger when you get that acceptance puts you in a good position to release. In traditional distribution, the distributor cannot do advance planning and so the planning starts after the initial buzz has been created at the festival.
I know some of you have been confused or frustrated by the lag time between a festival premiere of a film and the release. Hopefully this helps to explain the matter.
Orly Ravid November 30th, 2012
Posted In: Distribution, Film Festivals, International Sales, Uncategorized
Tags: cable VOD, DVD release, film distribution, film promotion, film sales, independent film premiere, independent film release, Sundance Film Festival, theatrical release, traditional film distribution
One key point on film sales
In light of the American Film Market just wrapping up and Sundance on the horizon, we thought we would devote some time to explaining how film sales works and what the landscape is looking like for independent films at the moment. Many of you may not truly be aware of how a sales agent relationship works. Indeed, by conversations we’ve seen on forums and in social media spaces, many newer filmmakers do not understand the repercussions of signing a sales agent agreement for their films.
Typically sales agents do not act like real estate brokers, but more like intermediary distributors. What I mean is they do not facilitate a deal that a filmmaker does directly with third parties and then charge a commission that gets paid out as does a real estate broker. Typically, sales agents first license all the rights from a filmmaker (meaning they then possess all the rights, meaning the film isn’t yours to control during their agreement term) and then re-license them per territory or in a worldwide deal depending on the territory they have been assigned to sell in contractually. The agreement is between the agent and the buyer, not between the filmmaker and the buyer. Often sales agents’ terms are 20 years, or 15, 12, 10, 7, but rarely less than 7 and the more old school ones are longer. The reasoning is that they need the rights to be able to sell the rights. So for at least 7 years, the film is no longer in your possession and by the time you get control of it again, it is indeed considered an old title.
Film sales office Asian Film Market
There are some advantages to working with a sales agent of course. They will spend money traveling to markets, producing sales materials, courting buyers and they handle all delivery and oversee the distributors they’ve signed agreement with, keeping a watchful eye and monitoring accounting. Sales agents usually have better buyer contacts than most filmmakers and more leverage, and they have more market intelligence. Bear in mind that they front this money for the film (that they own for a time), but it all must be recouped from the sales revenue with sales commission before any is passed back to the filmmaker. There are also times when the delivery items (also known as deliverables in a sales agent agreement) must be completed and paid for BEFORE the agent will take it out to buyers. In some cases if this hasn’t been delivered upon signing the agreement, an agency may pay to have these items fulfilled if they find a buyer who requires them (like 35mm prints) and the deal is large enough to recoup this additional cost plus commission.
The taking rights component is an issue because these agreements last for a number of years and the filmmaker is shut out of much or all of festival distribution and the ability to conduct direct distribution efforts (internet distribution) plus all the rest. I’ve written all this before; and many seasoned filmmakers already know it, but I write it again to remind of one key thing during this AFM/film sales season: DO THE MATH.
At The Film Collaborative we do sales too, sometimes, in a very boutique fashion. We spend little at markets; we sell only certain strands of films that we have lots of experience in handling. We do NOT take rights ever and the deals are, almost always, between the BUYER and the FILMMAKER. Rare exceptions are when we are doing a bulk TV deal and even then filmmakers still have 100% approval and collect within a few days of us having collected from the broadcaster.
There’s more that can be said about the specifics of sales and samenesses v. differences between our model and the traditional one, but the point is to remind of this one key point: Oftentimes the potential deals that a traditional sales agent can do for you and what you can do for yourself or with us are the same, but the math (because of fees and expenses) will net you less.
There are times when certain types of films have a certain sales potential that may be better served by a motivated sales agent who has the cash to augment the deals and can command more and stand better to collect etc. But most of the time, for indies, the deals these days are so few and far between and for such small prices that if one does not pick a company that follows our model, one will get screwed. Sometimes, the screening fee from festival distribution is the same or more than the sales money (yes, screening fees can be negotiated!). Sometimes the benefit of DIY distribution by the filmmaker can net more than an MG on a sale. Sometimes there are no sales. Sometimes the expense recoupments due to a sales agent exceed the sales revenue. So the key is get real sales projections, back up with corroborating information, and DO THE MATH. Admittedly, this is no easy feat these days and sometimes the sales potential isn’t pretty.
Sometimes films represented by veteran agencies do the exact same deals we do, but instead of the filmmaker getting the money directly from the buyers, it passes through a sales agent who recoups expenses and higher fees such that the net is ultimately less to the filmmaker, who cannot even exploit any rights to her own film.
Before signing agreements with sales agents, ask the agent about the sales potential of your film, the one they are asking to represent (and own for a time). Ask to see the projections in writing and analyze that they really are comparable films (genre, actor names, topic, timeframe of the sale should be in the last year or two, not 5 years ago when the film world was very different). Ask about their intentions for marketing your title, beyond designing a one sheet and perhaps a new trailer. Ask how many films they are representing this year at the markets and will your title get its proper attention. Beyond the markets, will your film be promoted in any other way (publication coverage, special screenings, social media outreach, highlighted on their website and in their weekly email blasts)? Think if it will be worth it to relinquish all rights to your film for at least 7 years. Be in reality about the real sales potential of your film, do the math, and make your decisions accordingly.
Orly Ravid November 13th, 2012
Posted In: Distribution, International Sales
Tags: American Film Market, film buyers, film distribution, film distributors, film markets, film sales, film sales agent, film sales agreements, Sundance Film Festival
The harsh realities of becoming a *responsible* filmmaker
by Orly Ravid
It is difficult to definitively explain what The Film Collaborative (TFC) does in a few sentences. Often, when asked for a company bio for a speaking engagement, we are asked to sum up in a few words, but here is the thing…we do different things for different films and that is what makes this non profit company devoted to independent film distribution different. We are a membership organization and we offer a menu of services that are separately available. For our members, we are largely an educational and informational organization. We will work with any film/filmmaker to provide consultation and educational resources which are included in our membership fees.
We can provide services such as: worldwide festival distribution, worldwide sales, domestic sales, worldwide direct digital, domestic theatrical, limited domestic educational distribution, grassroots / social network marketing services, and contract negotiation services. These are all subject to additional fees so the filmmaker must have significant budget to allow for the labor and expenses incurred and our acceptance depends on the workload currently undertaken by the company.
We also serve in a sales agent capacity with SOME films. Due to this dual nature (educational and service oriented), we are very discerning about the films we take on in this capacity. We can work on any aspect of distribution, but with a strong emphasis on direct distribution being part of your overall distribution strategy. We can connect you with service providers/buyers we think are right for your film, and ones we trust and recommend, but WE NEVER OWN YOUR RIGHTS and filmmakers can cancel the service at any time. This clearly sets us apart from other sales agents and can be confusing to those who are accustomed to typical sales agent arrangements. The deals we make are almost always between the buyer and the filmmaker. The only exception to this are bulk deals whereby doing the deals individually is just tortuous for all involved. We are very boutique in our sales agent offerings, not wanting to disappoint or take on more than we can handle. If we don’t think a title is suited to our strengths and our mission to offer quality films of artistic merit with strong distribution potential, then we don’t take them on for sales representation. Which brings us to merit…
Not all films will have distribution potential, not all films are good, not all films have an audience, or not a significant one. There, we said it! Time and again we see filmmakers willingly, enthusiastically going into debt, either raising money from investors or credit cards and coming to us for help in getting their creations out into the world. Sometimes those creations just won’t have a life out there and no matter what is spent in time or money, a significant audience won’t be found. We drill down into every member’s film in order to give the best assessment, but there are times when the prognosis is not favorable to the kind of success they are seeking.
For members’ films, we remove our personal tastes from the equation and try our best to determine WHO in the world would be enthusiastic for the film and how many such folks are out there? And where are they? And can they be reached given the resources available? When you made the film, were you thinking of an audience? When you came to us expecting the film to: get TV sales, international sales, a nice Netflix fee, a theatrical release, a theatrical even after you did a DIY DVD and iTunes release, were you basing that on another film that is similar? Do you understand the decision making process involved in the buying of films for release? Was any research at all conducted BEFORE the production started? With the amount of information on our site and thousands of others online, there is no longer an excuse for not knowing the answers to these questions well before a production starts.
I am starting to want to be the tough love nursemaid and say we don’t want your babies to be orphans. Filmmakers now have to educate themselves a bit before conception and well before giving birth so they will be able to cover all the rearing their film baby is going to need to claw its way through the mobs of other film babies, their TV siblings, Webcontent cousins, and the rest of their multimedia distraction family. As with conceiving real babies, it is all fun and games until the reality of raising a child sets in. You need to be fully prepared for the long haul.
We have information, we keep up with the current shifting sands of distribution, we receive opportunities because we represent quality films, we have contacts, years of expertise, we’re friendly, we’re not gonna f*ck you over, but we cannot save every film from oblivion nor can we convert every film into a success however you define it. So much of that has to start with you, being clear and honest with yourself, before you say “action”.
photo credit: Adam Foster | Codefor
Orly Ravid August 8th, 2012
Posted In: Digital Distribution, Distribution, International Sales, Marketing
Tags: artistic merit, consultation, Digital Distribution, direct distribution, educational resources, festival distribution, film distribution, film sales, independent film, non profit, sales agent, TFC