| Finding and Attracting the Right Distributor |
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| Tamara Shannon | |
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Page 1 of 2 All distributors want to acquire marketable films that will be profitable. (It’s a bonus if the film is also well-received by the critics.) Typically, marketable films contain cast or a well-known filmmaker, but they can also be independently financed films with no cast – for example, Napoleon Dynamite.
And just as distributors want to acquire marketable films, you want to attract the distributor who will do the best possible job of marketing your film – the right distributor for your product. Here’s how to go about it.
DevelopmentBefore you approach a distributor, you must really know your product. It’s not enough to have a great script and/or well-known cast. How will your film break through the cluttered marketplace?Don’t just submit your script – you’ll do much better if you help a distributor understand how your film can be marketed. Remember, distributors are often overwhelmed with submissions and may have seen a project similar to yours dozens of times before. So think of it as a job interview. There are a great many qualified applicants up for the same position. Why should the employer pick you? Two key steps Your first step is to develop a positioning and marketing statement and determine your target market. Your next step is to research the distributors you want to approach before you actually contact any of them. Get to know their product lineup, their marketing campaigns and how their films have performed theatrically. If a distributor has a half-dozen horror films on their upcoming slate, for example, they may not want any more. Then again, they might have a direct-to-video horror label – in which case your film could be exactly the type of product they wants. Many distributors have carved out a niche for themselves as distributors of specific type of product – horror, documentaries, or anything else. They may also specialize in types of release. Some distributors are equipped to handle a wide release (2000 prints), others are not. Continued... |
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