From: FILMMAKER BLOG: Jeremy Coon (producer, "Napoleon Dynamite")

http://www.filmindependent.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=14

Based on my observations, the biggest mistake independent filmmakers make is not having a realistic strategy for the sale and distribution of their film. Plenty focus on raising money and the many physical aspects of producing their film, which are all extremely important, but they don't give enough thought to how they will present their film to the marketplace. Saying that your plan is to get into Sundance and score a distribution deal does not constitute a realistic plan, because that's what everyone says and the sobering truth is that will only be true for maybe a dozen films in any given year. We were lucky enough to have that happen on NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, but we did our homework and had contingency plans if Sundance didn't work out. The selling of a film is a very complex ordeal that involves processing a lot of information and you're competing against literally thousands of other films to catch a distributor's attention. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's not rocket science and the fact that you're reading this and attending this forum means that you're already far ahead of the curve simply by learning more about it.

Here some things that I've learned:

1. MAKE THE BEST FILM YOU CAN. This is totally obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people lose sight of that. You need to make something that's worth buying before you can sell it.

2. FILM FESTIVALS. The best way to present your film is usually on the festival circuit especially if you're a new undiscovered filmmaker. You should attend whatever festivals you can because they are fun and you can learn a lot by just watching and getting use to the hectic environment. Look at what film festivals you would like to attend and make a priority list based on the submission deadlines. The big acquisition festivals are obviously Toronto, Sundance, and SXSW, but there are many other awesome ones. Use your list as a checklist so that if you don't get into Sundance, you've already thought about what your plan B,C, D, etc is.

3. ASSEMBLE A TEAM. You should never sell your film yourself. Do yourself a favor and score a producer's rep and a lawyer. There are several top reps around town and they are constantly looking for projects. If you get accepted into Sundance, I guarantee that they'll be calling you constantly. They should be purely commission based (around 10%) and a good rep will never ask for money upfront. A publicist is also important only if you're in one of the best festivals so that your film is not lost in the shuffle.

4. SCREEN YOUR FILM VERY SELECTIVELY. The biggest ace that you have as an independent filmmaker is that you can largely control who sees your film and when. It's human nature that people want something more when they can't have it. Use this to your advantage. Don't let distributors see the film before it premieres. Tell them that it won't be completed until just before its premiere. We did this out of necessity on NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and it worked to very much to our advantage. The base case scenario is to show to the film to a room full of different distributors for the first time at once and forcing them to act quickly or risk losing it to someone else.

5. DON'T OVERHYPE. Your first instinct is probably to tell everyone who will listen about how awesome your film is, but you shouldn't. If you just hype without a plan it will likely backfire on you. This town is all about expectations and word of mouth travels fast and by the time your film actually screens people might have such high expectations that any film would be a disappointment. Your goal should be to set the lowest possible expectations, but still get the right distributors' butts in your screening.

6. TIME IS USUALLY NOT ON YOUR SIDE. If you're lucky and you get two or more distributors fighting for your film, you usually should not wait too long to make a decision or get too greedy. As quickly as a bidding war heats up, it can die out even quicker. Every situation is different, but the old cliché of strike while the iron is hot is often the way to go.


There's plenty more advice (and probably better) out there and these are just some thoughts that stick out to me at the moment. The best advice I can give is just to educate yourself the as much as you can on this topic and talk to as many people as you can with any experience in selling and releasing films. This forum should be a great foundation, so don't waste it. You'll have personal access to many industry players that would usually be next to impossible to get a meeting with. There's nothing better than face time to get your foot in the door. Like I said earlier, the fact that you're already thinking seriously about a plan of how to sell your film puts you in a better place than a lot of indie filmmakers.