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A two-day virtual event to help filmmakers demystify distribution.

Note: All panels that are currently only available with auto-generated captions will be updated to open captioning as they are completed.

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 9am PT

Keynote:
Now What? Navigating the Waters of Distribution as the Tides Change

15 min.

Marketing Strategist / Distribution Consultant Mia Bruno of Fourth Act Film starts us off with her take on the Distribution landscape and how we got here.

mia
Mia Bruno

Marketing Strategist / Distribution Consultant

Distribution Overview
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 9:15am PT

How To Prevent a Broken Heart in Distribution

30 min.

Unrealistic expectations can only compound one’s sense of failure within a distribution system that has been and continues to be broken. But staying with your film well into its distribution, assembling the right team to keep you on track, isolating the things that are in your control, and being nimble enough to pivot when things don’t go as planned are just some of the suggestions that feature writer/director and distribution consultant Liz Manashil will provide as she treads valiantly into rough terrain to give us all some much-needed insight—and perhaps even a glimmer of hope.

liz
Liz Manashil

Distribution Consultant and Feature Filmmaker

Distribution Overview
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 9:45am PT

Sales & VOD from an EU Perspective

30 min.

So, you have a hybrid distribution strategy going in North America and are looking towards International. Orly Ravid talks to two EU sales agents and a distribution consultant Wendy Bernfeld to discuss what’s possible for indies in the EU and beyond.

orly
Orly Ravid

The Film Collaborative

esther
Esther van Messel

First Hand Films

tine
Tine Klint

LevelK

wendy
Wendy Bernfeld

RightsStuff BV

Hybrid Distribution
VOD
International Sales
ASL Interpretation

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 10:30am PT

Accessibility & Distribution

60 min.

One of the best lines to come out of our preliminary discussions setting up this panel was, “If you don’t have Closed Captions and Audio Description, your film is not finished.” But even if one has those things in place, how can one make sure they are properly leveraged during film festival screenings and theatrical exhibitions? Can we get to a place where filmmakers whose projects revolve around accessibility or who they themselves have accessibility needs are not the only ones shouldering the burden of ensuring that venues provide more inclusive audience accommodation?

day
Day Al-Mohamed

FWD-Doc

alison
Alison O’Daniel

Director, The Tuba Thieves

reid
Reid Davenport

Director, I Didn’t See You There

rodney
Rodney Evans

Writer/Director/Producer, Vision Portraits

mae
Mae Thornton Mehra

Producer, Being. Michelle

Accessibility
Festivals
Theatrical
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 11:45am PT

Case Studies:
Getting Butts 🇺🇸 (or Bums 🇬🇧) into Seats

75 min.

Filmmaker, author, and strategist Jon Reiss (8 Above) talks to director Signe Baumane and producer Sturgis Warner (My Love Affair with Marriage) and Sarah Mosses (Together Films) talks to Jeanie Finley (Your Fat Friend) about their respective—and very different—approaches to getting audiences to see their films in a theater.

sarah
Sarah Mosses

Together Films

jeanie
Jeanie Finlay

Director, Your Fat Friend

jon
Jon Reiss

8 Above

signe
Signe Baumane

Director, My Love Affair With Marriage

sturgis
Sturgis Warner

Producer, My Love Affair With Marriage

Accessibility
Festivals
Theatrical
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

THU, MAY 2, 2024 • 2:00am PT

What is The Role Of Festival Distribution?

60 min.

Film festivals are generally the first steps in putting an indie film out into the world, and often the most pivotal. So why are they often seen as more associated with “marketing” than distribution, and how has this changed in recent years? Why do so many films that are hits on the film festival circuit struggle so mightily to secure buyers, and how can film festivals be used to fill in the gaps? Jeffrey Winter moderates a panel with TFC alums to discuss this…and more.

Trailers to these filmmakers’ films shown as part of the conference but can be viewed by clicking the hyperlink under their speaker photo.

jeffrey
Jeffrey Winter

The Film Collaborative

sav
Sav Rodgers

Director, Chasing Chasing Amy

daresha
Daresha Kyi

Director/Producer, Mama Bears

alez
Alex Lieberman

Summer Qamp, Subject, Sirens

beth
Beth Levison

Producer, Storm Lake, Women in Blue

Festivals
VOD
ASL Interpretation

FRI, MAY 3, 2024 • 9am PT

Reflections on Day 1

15 min.

A reflection of TFC Distribution Days - Day 1 and its most important takeaways.

orly
Orly Ravid

The Film Collaborative

liz
Liz Manashil

Marketing Strategist / Distribution Consultant

david
David Averbach

The Film Collaborative

Distribution Overview
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

FRI, MAY 3, 2024 • 9:15am PT

Real Talk with U.S.-based All Rights Distributors (with Q&A)

75 min.

Orly Ravid will ask distributors—such as Gravitas Ventures, AMC Networks Film Group, DeskPop Entertainment, Music Box Films, Magnolia Pictures, and Gravitas Ventures—what they are acquiring, what is working and possible these days in terms of distribution, and what type of films are getting streaming deals vs. simply TVOD (or AVOD).

orly
Orly Ravid

The Film Collaborative

bill
Bill Guentzler

Gravitas Ventures

ryan
Ryan Oeastreich

Music Box Films

miranda
Miranda Hill

Magnolia Pictures

mat
Mat Levy

DeskPop Entertainment

adam
Adam Koehler

AMC Networks Film Group

VOD
Sales
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

FRI, MAY 3, 2024 • 11:45am PT

Case Studies:
Making an Impact (with Q&A)

75 min.

Eliza Licht, Nyasha Laing, and Alice Quinlan of Red Owl Partners will present two Impact Case Studies with their respective directors and take your questions.

eliza
Eliza Licht

Red Owl Partners

nyasha
Nyasha Laing

Red Owl Partners

alice
Alice Quinlan

Red Owl Partners

jamie
Jamie Boyle

Director, Anonymous Sister

hazel
Hazel Gurland

Director, Storming Caesars Palace

Distribution Overview
Open Captions
ASL Interpretation

All “Meet the Educational Distributors” Interviews are Open Captioned without ASL Interpretation

Meet the Educational Distributors

The Cinema Guild

Peter Kelly, President

peter
cinemaguild
Meet the Educational Distributors

Califorina Newsreel

Rachel Poulain, Executive Director

rachel
californianewsreel
Meet the Educational Distributors

Collective Eye Films

James-Michael Bower, Director of Operations

james-michael
collectiveeye
Meet the Educational Distributors

Journeyman Pictures

Emma Simpson, Head of Acquisitions and Development

emma
journeyman
Meet the Educational Distributors

Kanopy

Jason Tyrrell, General Manager

jason
kanopy
Meet the Educational Distributors

New Day Films

Myles Matsuno, Acquisitions Lead

myles
newday
Meet the Educational Distributors

ro*co films

Cristine Platt Dewey, Head of Educational Sales

cristine
roco
Meet the Educational Distributors

Video Project

Michael Kuehnert, Director of Acquisitions

michael
videoproject
Meet the Educational Distributors

Women Make Movies

Kendra Hodgson, Managing Director

kendra
wmm
sponsors