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Making the Most of Film Distributors

Film distributors can help independent or foreign films get the attention they deserve

By Rachel Davy, Writer/Editor
Now that you’ve made your film, you want to ensure that it gets seen in theaters so that it can make money and get audience and industry attention. There are many independent and international film distributors that can promote your work in such avenues as film festivals to attract film distributors to your project.

Here some thing to consider about making the most of film distributors and getting your film the attention you want from critics, film industry insiders and audiences:

1. Learn about movie distributors that use the Internet to get your film attention.

2. Use international and independent film distribution companies that promote theatrical, home video and other means to get your film interest.

3. Find out how you can use a film festival to attract a movie distribution company to your film.

 

Work with movie distribution companies that use the Internet to promote films

Because so many people use the Internet to watch movies and learn about them, working with independent movie distributors that use the Internet to promote films is a great way to get attention for your film project. Many of these independent and international motion picture feature film distributors have used things such as Facebook or Myspace, as well as their own company websites, to generate interest in upcoming movie and DVD releases.
Try: Go to Zeitgeist Films, which is an independent film distribution company that promotes films with theater exhibitors as well as DVD sales. Reframe is a movie distributor program from the Tribeca Film Institute, which helps filmmakers and distributors showcase films that might not easily get the attention they deserve by promoting them on the Internet.

Work with independent film distributors that use digital distribution to promote films

Digital distribution is technology where films can be compressed and encrypted into files that can be quickly sent to theaters where they are opened with digital projection equipment without the need or the cost of transportation used for traditional distribution methods.
Try: Work with Technicolor or Magnepix Distribution, which are two film distribution companies that use digital distribution to promote films.

Learn how to attract film distributors to your film via film festivals

Film festivals have become a great way for independent and international filmmakers to attract attention to their film projects and get distribution deals. You will need to prepare a press kit, which should include a synopsis about your film, some production stills, and information about how long it took to shoot your film. Also include a biography of your cast and crew and your previous film credits. Have enough copies of your press kit to pass around to film distributors.
Try: Visit Film Festivals.com to search through its listings of upcoming film festivals so that you can submit your film and generate interest from motion picture distributors. Show your film at Indie Film Festival to generate interest for your film from film distributors and audiences. Go to Versfelt Communications Group to have an electronic press kit of your film made to showcase at film festivals.

 

  • An electronic press kit has a short video or trailer of your film, biographies of your cast and crew, interviews about the making of the film, and other promotional material to get film distributors interested in your film.

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