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MillimeterThe Distribution Beat
Jun 10, 2009 12:00 PM, By Eric Melin
Alejandro Adams
Traditional distribution models for independent filmmakers today are in a state of flux that has never been seen before. During this recession, DVD sales are in rapid decline, and many of the new wave of no-budget filmmakers are skipping DVD and theatrical releases altogether, opting instead for online distribution. “One of the most frequently parroted ideas at the moment,” says writer/director Alejandro Adams, “is that soon there will be nothing to fill the market space between a blockbuster and a no-budget indie. There will be no Little Miss Sunshine.”
Adams, who also runs the film-culture discussion blog BraintrustDV, has two completed films, Canary and Around the Bay, making the festival rounds now. Despite interest in his film from distributors, he’s biding his time.
“At this point, my belief is that anyone interested in longevity should take a deep breath and not rush into anything,” Adams says. “For those who feel a need to have their films seen ASAP, of course I endorse taking whatever you can get, even if you have to put the film online yourself. A filmmaker can’t control the vagaries of distribution. What he can control is whether or not people want to see his films.”
Websites with open submission policies are receiving so much content, however, that it’s easy to get lost without some sort of promotion. There are some traditional methods that still occupy an important rung on the distribution ladder.
“What these overcrowded online video sites demonstrate time and time again is that gatekeepers and tastemakers are an absolute necessity,” Adams says. “Find your favorite gatekeeper and convince him or her that your film should get through the gate. I can tell you from first-hand experience that this approach works. What doesn’t work is treating the gatekeeping establishment like a big impenetrable cloudbank and throwing stuff vaguely upward and hoping it gets all the way to God.”
With instant-communication social networking tools such as Twitter, the walls between filmmaker, curator, critic, and audience are breaking down. According to Adams, the time is now to create and stoke your brand.
“I advocate the use of Twitter above all else. Critics have publicly praised my films on Twitter, thus increasing the interest in my work,” he says. “Twitter also allowed me to interact with audience members after a screening in New York, creating a virtual Q&A. And it goes both ways—I pay close attention to the distributors on Twitter.
“Reviews, interviews, and festival screenings have resulted from my use of Twitter. My films aren’t currently available to the public, but isn’t it possible that what I’m up to is a kind of alternative distribution? There’s no way to know, really, because no one can agree on what distribution is anymore.”
In this downturned economy, filmmakers need to be more than merely artists. Forward-thinking content creators must get ready for the next big shift in film culture by embracing whatever it may be. “All I can say with certainty is that I enjoy exploring these uncharted waters,” Adams says. “Each and every independent filmmaker needs to be able to say that and mean it.”
Continue the discussion on Crosstalk the Millimeter Forum.