Indie Film Needs
A rant on the state of indie film distribution
Like any other indie filmmaker in development, I’m paying close attention to the conversations I have about production in 2025. Production in Los Angeles in 2025. Post strikes, post fires. In the midst of petitions about the tax credit. And, as a producer’s rep, I’m meeting with filmmakers, lobbying for their films at festivals, pitching to distributors, looking at contracts. I am deeply connected to the Sisyphean journey that lower budget independent filmmakers take to get their work into the world. In spite of the pain and exhaustion, the goal is to make a film with staying power. So, we need to stay with our movies til the bitter end, if we can.
When I meet with filmmakers about how to make the most out of their release, they very often have limited resources, time and energy. Here are a list of things that I think our industry needs (amongst many other things not mentioned here) in order to help filmmakers stay with their films and actively promote them:
A YouTube (or other) platform for original pilots
Starting with a softball here. A filmmaking colleague made a pilot and submitted to the very short list of festivals that take episodic content. It did not make a splash and we were lost with what to do with the piece next. The filmmaker did not have reps, was not able to pitch the project around to production companies. It would be meaningful to have a platform where independent tv pilots can launch and have a chance to capture audiences in a democratic way. If this exists, please point me to it.
Aggregators that aggregate. Not distributors that moonlight as aggregators.
The definition of aggregator has changed. Almost all, if not all, the traditional aggregators that I am aware of take some sort of percentage from the revenue of filmmakers in exchange for placing content up on platforms. What used to be a service is now traditional distribution parading under a different label. The way I’ve learned to define a distributor is by their marketing efforts in exchange for a split of revenue. Most digital distributors do a paltry effort at marketing and take a split regardless. Splits need to go down if a distributor isn’t truly marketing a title and aggregators who take a split of revenue should stop calling themselves aggregators.
More nontheatrical resources.
Many filmmakers miss out on the opportunity to license their films to small groups in their semi-theatrical window. This happens because they do not have access to the contact information of these screening hosts. This information is not accessible because each film needs a bespoke list of NGOs, nonprofits, religious organizations for outreach. Wouldn’t the world of indie film be even more effective if we had a database of all screening hosts interested in impact and general nontheatrical film events? What if this information was not behind a gate but available publicly to connect community and artist? Gamechanging.
A current list of sales agents and distributors and a very clear definition for each company regarding what they do.
Every few weeks I have a client come to me with a suggested distributor who is actually a sales company, and a sales company that also does distribution. This is a murky point for independent film. I call for all sales companies to be explicit about what their sales process is (most filmmakers do not know) and to define themselves transparently so filmmakers can find them. I am aware Cinando exists. It is not exhaustive.
A platform for all festivals to download festival deliverables.
Or, a call for all festivals to utilize their submission platform for deliverables. Wouldn’t this world be better if all filmmakers could upload all their festival deliverables upon submission to a film festival so they do not have to manage each festival's fulfillment process in a bespoke way? I am a festival rep for shorts and features and every festival we get accepted into has their own process of receiving our film. Some h264, some DCP. Some download off of film freeway. Some use dropbox. Some have their own website for uploads. Filmmakers are paying to submit to a festival. They are not receiving any cut of the tickets sales in most circumstances. They are often going out of pocket to travel and promote. Make festival delivery easier.
The eradication of festival premieres. This is a major pain point for the indie filmmaker. Let’s stop living in fear that a film has already played in our country, our region, or our city. If we worked in a system where festivals abided by a super clear calendar of submissions and notifications that everyone followed, I wouldn't be so adamant about this one. But, the calendaring of festivals is all over the place! And, filmmakers finish their film when they finish their film. The festival process is long and arduous and they want to start submitting ASAP so that they can move into the distribution phase and start paying back their long suffering investors. If we eradicate festival premieres, filmmakers could just submit to the festivals that they wanted to play, festivals could just curate the films they want to show. How many times have I tried to coach a filmmaker to pull out of a festival gracefully because two festivals wanted their world premiere? There is no grace to it and it’s unnecessary. Filmmakers need every screening opportunity. In a world where festivals very often do not transport, house, or give filmmakers a cut of the ticket split, they should stop handcuffing filmmakers and stop requiring them to try to predict the future as they submit to film festivals.
I hope I haven’t offended too many people with this list. Mainly I’m worried about my friends who are festival programmers who are facing a very tough marketplace themselves and trying to incentivize ticket sales with promises of world premieres. However, let’s think bigger. Filmmakers are exhausted. Their resources are strapped. They are working their hardest to get their films out into the world while following unstandardized systems with unspoken byzantine rules. If they navigate them poorly, they miss opportunities to connect with audiences- something that is so vital for emerging storytellers. If their time was less tied up with trying to find the right distribution teammates, strategically submitting to festivals (in a calendar year that pits festivals against each other), they could spend that time and energy promoting the film on your platform, making everyone more money. Let’s work together to provide transparent resources for our community so we can all thrive.
This is amazing insight Liz. Thank you!