Distribution : 4 Rules To Financially Protect Your Film With Indie Distributors by Maurice Vaughan

Generally good to be wary and ask the right questions of any distributor. Don’t be afraid of asking, you’re the one with the power who has a movie that could potentially make people money.

A couple notes. Distribber is mentioned in the article. They actually went out of business in 2019 after some shady practices.

The differences between distributors, aggregators, and sales agents are sometimes hard to discern. But I’m always wary of a company demanding upfront costs. Gravitas Ventures, whom we worked with for our feature Hero of the Underworld, wanted new poster art. So they developed something in-house and paid for it themselves. That cost was reimbursed to them by sales before any money came to us. We saw that as fair.

Thanks for sharing, Mike Boas. Geoff Hall also pointed out Distribber in the blog's Comment Section. Gregory Green responded. It seems to me like distributors ripping off indie filmmakers and producers is bad business for the distributors. Once a distributor gets a bad rep, it'll stick with them.

I agree, that's fair. If I was making a movie, I'd prefer the distributor pay for things upfront. Sounds like indie filmmakers and producers should check out Gravitas Ventures.

Mike Boas I haven't worked with the company you mentioned, but haven't heard great things either. Bigger question, have you made any money? If the answer is no, then it's not a great deal for the filmmaker. Most of these companies tell filmmakers they need a new poster, or trailer, then pay someone 1-200 bucks for it, and up-charge the filmmakers a ridiculous fee.

Doing proper due diligence is so important. I made an indie film years ago and got caught up in the excitement and came so close to signing with a few distributors I learned later were predators like Gregory refers to. I now always recommend finding out what exactly a company has distributed and reaching out to the producers of the films and ask them about their experience. Listen to your gut and try to talk to your fellow filmmakers and producers and get their direct feedback because they'll know and are usually more than happy to share intel and support other artists.

I agree, Sam Sokolow. Doing proper due diligence is crucial. Glad you didn't sign with those distributors. Thanks for sharing the tips.

I have nothing negative to say about Gravitas, although is disheartening to hear about anyone’s bad experiences.

It’s been hard to make profit on our film, but I attribute that more to its budget and its saleability, not any bad practices.

thanks Maurice Vaughan , this is GOLD!

You're welcome, Alessio Bergamo.