Since my posting about Jonathan Glazer’s amazing film, ‘The Zone of Interest’…
https://www.stage32.com/lounge/distribution/NEWS-The-Zone-Of-Interest-s-...
…I have become more interested in distribution. In my mind, if you are a producer, you should be excited by Distribution. Right? I must admit, when I first forayed into being a Producer (back in 2009) I was more daunted than excited, but the distro terrain has changed radically since then and I find myself exhilarated by the potential for thinking outside of the bounds of traditional models of (theatrical) release.
I was doing a little Sunday morning research and came across ‘Fathom Events’ on the BoxOffice Pro website:
https://www.boxofficepro.com/tag/fathom-events/
I then checked out the Fathom Events site:
https://www.fathomevents.com/about-us/
…and I began to see the potential for my film which is yes, in development, but it’s never too early to think about distribution and which model(s) will be appropriate for the theme of the story. Whilst we don’t fit Fathom Events ‘faith-based’ model, I decided to contact them about their acquisitions policy, as I was intrigued by their distribution model. (It’s Sunday, so I’m still awaiting a reply, but I’ll post it in the comments, below). Now, they may not meet exactly what I was looking for by way of ‘direct-to-theatre’ distribution, but it gave me another possibility for the film, when thinking of Events releasing.
Have any of you used Fathom Events for distributing your film? What was your experience of working with them? Are there any other similar companies out there, that work with films that aren’t ‘faith-based’?
Back to ‘The Zone of Interest’ - I noted with Glazer’s film that a Specialty distribution to the educational market was accessed and I think we may be a suitable film to follow this approach.
Have any of you produced a film that was right for the Specialty educational market? What was your experience?
Thanks for any insights that you post.
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A friend of mine used to work for a prominent film festival as well. She said they would watch 5-10 minutes of film, and if they didn't like it, it went in a no pile. Then what was left the festival d...
Expand commentA friend of mine used to work for a prominent film festival as well. She said they would watch 5-10 minutes of film, and if they didn't like it, it went in a no pile. Then what was left the festival director would decide on. So, similar story. I don't think that's right. To me, if someone pays an entry fee, you watch the entire film. Even if it sucks. Only fair.
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Stephen Folker probably same for Oscar voters; there is no way a voter is watching entire movies. Vote on hype and whoever is paying bribes :)
Dan MaxXx sad, but true. Whole business is rigged.
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Geoff Hall It began with a T. Not an S. That's all I'll say about the festival I mentioned. The reality is that they can't actually watch all the films in their entirety. You'd need a full time team o...
Expand commentGeoff Hall It began with a T. Not an S. That's all I'll say about the festival I mentioned. The reality is that they can't actually watch all the films in their entirety. You'd need a full time team of 20-30 people watching all day long 7 days a week 60 hours a week in a clockwork orange fashion with nothing but bathroom breaks to get through all the actual entries. And that's just the features. With the amount of shorts they get, forget it. You're not getting in.
That's why Blue Ruin nearly failed. The movie takes about 25 minutes for anything to happen. Only festival to pick that up was Cannes. And that movie is amazing. To this day I think that it's the festival's fault that so many movies have a spoiler in the first 5 minutes of the movie and then jump back in time. Because without some huge tentpole moment in the front of the film, it has no shot at anyone watching the rest of it.
M LaVoie i’ve never heard of the Tundance Film Festival. Haha!