Propuesta de producción audiovisual

1. ONE WORLD, ONE BUSINESS
INTERNATIONAL SALES AND
DISTRIBUTION FOR THE
INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER
Sydney Levine
November 2015
Sydney@SydneysBuzz.com
www.SydneysBuzz.com

2. THE INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM CIRCUIT
INTERNATIONAL FILM CIRCUIT
Art versus Commerce
The Film Business combines creative people with their particular traits and
business people. Together they create and distribute a work of art or
entertainment of cultural or political significance.
This mix is often very volatile.

3. INTERNATIONAL FILM BUSINESS: MARKETING, SALES AND
DISTRIBUTION
The B 2 B (Commerce)
B 2 B: The international film business is a $3 billion dollar industry
which takes place among filmmakers, financiers, international sales
agents, distributors and marketers around the world every year.
B 2 C: Total global box office mas o menos $35 billion..
•U.S. and Canadian box office $10 billion.
• China grew by 27.5% to become the first international market to
exceed $3 billion in box office.
•And, with China building 13 new screens every day more growth is
coming.
•Overall international box office of $25 billion is a staggering 33%
higher compared to five years ago—
•The strongest growth coming out of China, Russia and Mexico.

4. The Film Business Means Distribution

5. WHY DISTRIBUTION? CASH FLOW IS CRITICAL
Why is cash flow critical?
•To pay back investors
•To make reputation
•To make your next film
The way it was…Today theatrical – TV – DVD – Digital
Product still flows from the producer to the viewer, and returns as cash.

6. Filmmaker Heaven

7. OVERVIEW OF THE MARKETPLACE
• 10,000 Festivals a year
• 450 international sales agents license rights for specific genres
of films to
• 2,500 distributors using theaters, TV, DVD, online streaming
and downloading in their country, representing
• 60 distribution territories
• 2,500 to 4,500 films and projects offered per market at
– 3 major markets: Cannes, AFM, Berlin
– 5 major festivals: Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Berlin, and …..the one
that’s best for your film
• 20,000 new films a year are produced.

8. Let’s go around the world and look at
film festivals both as a cultural and
business phenomenon.

9. The Circuit

10. The Film Circuit (partial only)

12. The international independent film circuit begins in September at TIFF.
BUT for you, it begins when your film or project is ready (REALLY READY) for entry into
the marketplace.
•3 major de jure markets +
1. American Film Market – November, Santa Monica CA
2. Berlinale’s European Film Market
3. Cannes’ Marche de Film
(And many other second tier markets)
•2 major de facto markets – part of the festival circuit +
1. TIFF
2. Sundance
(And many other fests with SIOs -Sales & Industry Offices – Guadalajara, Locarno,
San Sebastian, Miami, Karlovy Vary, etc., etc., etc.)
•5 major film festivals – increasingly includes markets
1. Cannes
2. Berlin
3. TIFF
4. Sundance
5. And the best one for you depending of timing, genre, trade attendance
• Premarkets
•Rotterdam Cinemart
•FICG CoProduction Meetings & Construye
•Los Cabos Coproduction Meetings
•San Sebastian & Toulouse Encuentros
•IFP No Borders
•Pusan Asian Film Market, etc., etc., etc.

13. The International Film Business
takes place on
The International Film Circuit
Three Reasons to Be on The Circuit:
* Important Window on Culture
** Individual Commerce
***Networking

14. ONE FESTIVAL: FICG (Guadalajara FF)
encompasses a vast array of activities.
• Film Festival
– Official Selection
– Shorts
– Guest of Honor: A Country/ A Filmmaker
– Special Screenngs
– Social and Environmental Films
– ENDOC Latin Americn and Caribbean Docs
– International Panorama
– Films From the Past
– Vox Populi Box Office
– Europe: New Films
– Film Tunes
– Exhibition
• Film Market
• Talents
• DocuLab
• Producer Network
• Ibero American Co-Production Meetings
• Works in Progress

15. THE PLACE OF FESTIVALS IN THE CHAIN OF FILM
DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBITION
Festivals play various roles in the life of a feature film.
• If a film is looking for distribution, the festival may be the place
where potential distributors see it with a live audience which will
give them a feel for how it appeals to audiences.
• If a film has found distribution the festival may service to
“launch” its theatrical release in the territory where the festival is
held.
• A festival may launch the film’s life digitally so that the only
“live” play with filmmakers themselves present may be at the
festival. After that the film’s remaining days may be spent digitally
slowly or quickly making the filmmaker known worldwide and
perhaps strengthening the hand to make the next film.
•If a festival requests the film, there may be a fee of $1,000 to
$1,500 charged to the festival for its exhibition. This special case
scenario needs elaboration.

16. Top 6 Fests for Shorts
(but not the only important ones!)
1. Palm Springs ShortsFest. June 18 – 24, 2013
http://www.psfilmfest.org
2. Sundance FF. January 17 – 27, 2013
http://www.sundance.org/festival/ or see the winners 2012
3. Berlin Fest and Talent Campus. February 7 – 17, 2013
http://www.berlinale.de
4. Oberhausen Fest and Market. May 2 – 7, 2013
http://www.kurzfilmtage.de/index.php?id=2147&L=2
5. Clermont Ferrand Fest and Market. February 1 – 9, 2013
http://www.clermont-filmfest.com/index.php?m=129
6. Cannes Fest(s) and Shorts Corner May 8 – 13, 2013 & Cinefondation
http://www.cannescourtmetrage.com/uploads/albums/BrochureCCM_12.pdf

17. How to find “your” festival and “your” demographic
• Short films cover a whole range of categories – animated, documentary,
experimental, live action, musical, travelogue, fashion, to name a few, and
they allow experiments with cinematic styles and format at the starting
point in careers.
• Research the types of festivals which reach your type of audience
demographic.
• British Council Festival Directory lists 1495 Festivals.
http://film.britishcouncil.org/festivals-directory
• Withoutabox lists more than 5,000.
https://www.withoutabox.com
• Festival Focus lists 2,465
• http://www.festivalfocus.org/

18. 8 Tips To Keep In Mind
1. Target your audience
2. Good script
3. Digitize
4. Links must work!
5. Clear all rights (music included!)
6. Choose your festivals wisely 100 short film festivals
7. Know distribution windows
They are changing with the technology: Theatrical,
PPV, Pay TV, DVD, Free TV, VOD, Online
8. Have a good attorney

19. Length matters
Keep your end user in mind.
The smaller the outlet, the shorter the film.
• Feature 90 minutes (mas o menos)
• TV less than 30 minutes.
• Educational and institutional optimum 8-18 minutes.
• Internet 3 to 15 minutes.
• Mobile devices 18 to 60 seconds.

20. HOW WILL YOU MARKET YOURSELF
AND YOUR FILM?
You must stand out from the rest.

21. Selection of film festival types
• Go for festivals where you meet the trade.
• Go for festivals who offer money prizes.
• Go for festivals featuring YOUR KIND OF FILM
– Animation
– Dramatic
– Dance
– Fashion
– Fantasy
– Music

22. Win Prestigious Awards
Shorts matter!

23. Know the Programmers - Hebe Tabachnik
• Director FICG in L.A.
• World Cinema Programmer
Los Angeles and Palm Springs Film Festivals
• Short Film Programmer
Los Angeles Film Festival (in the past)
• Member, Screening Committee
International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards
• Member, Board of Directors, Dance Camera West

24. Know the Programmers – Kim Yutani
You can sometimes talk to them when they are not busy
programming:
Kim Yutani, Sr. Programmer for Sundance Film Festival also
programs shows.
Here are three of her favorites:
1. This is the Closest to How the Footage Looked
• https://vimeo.com/channels/636167/63829306
2. Las Palmas (clip)
• https://vimeo.com/21693673
3. Hard to Swallow
• https://vimeo.com/23083128

25. Some Picks
• FOCUS FORWARD have premieres in several festivals
(Sundance, SXSW and LAFF).
• The link is http://focusforwardfilms.com/#films
• LEXUS
Competition with TWC to make 3 minute long short.
• My personal all time favorite: Bambi Meets Godzilla
• IMDb List of 50 best

26. Catalogs of shorts distributors and buyers
http://www.unifrance.org/film/espace-courts-metrages
http://www.unifrance.org/catalogue/distributeurs-CM.pdf
http://www.unifrance.org/catalogue/acheteurs-CM.pdf

27. Key Trade Magazines
Free online trades and blogs include
www.FilmNewEurope.com
www.Cineuropa.org
www.IndieWIRE.com
www.DeadlineHollywood.com
www.TheWrap.com
www.FilmBizAsia.com
Pay trades include
www.ScreenDaily.com
www.Variety.com
www.HollywoodReporter.com
LeFilmFrancais
BlickPunktFilm

28. PART II: THE INTERNATIONAL,
INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OF FILM

29. The Indies
• The flipside of the mass markets which
major studios target is that of the
independent filmmaker -- especially the
filmmaker who is trying to get into “The
Business”.
• The new filmmaker and the arthouse indies
who find success usually find it with smaller
niche type audiences.
Finding this audience is key to the filmmaker.

30. Overview International Territories
The importance of the international market determines which films sell best at the
moment and has created international co-productions as the engine driving the
business.
The international market into four main areas:
• U.S.A. = 30%. BUT non-English language films = 1% of the U.S. market.
• Europe . Between 25 and 30% of the total worldwide business is done in Europe,
where (in order of admission numbers) the major markets are France, UK,
Germany and Spain. Per capita attendance in Europe is much lower than in North
America, with an average of just 2 visits per person in 2002.
• Latin America. In Latin America, the two main markets are Mexico and Brazil,
though #1 in arthouses film production is Argentina. Chile and Colombia are the
fastest growing in production.
• Far East (including Australasia). The major markets in the Far East sector are Japan
and Australia, with South Korea growing fast.
The largest & fastest growing markets are the BRICS countries:
Brazil, Russia, India, China, So. Africa

31. OVERVIEW OF THE MARKETPLACE
• 450 international sales agents license rights for specific genres
of films to
• 2,500 distributors using theaters, TV, DVD, online streaming
and downloading in their country, representing
• 60 distribution territories
• 2,500 to 4,500 films and projects offered per market at
– 3 major markets: Cannes, AFM, Berlin
– 5 major festivals: Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Berlin, and …..the one
that’s best for your film
• 15,000 new films a year are produced.

32. Before reaching your target market you must get an international
sales agent who will license your film to distributors who will
get your film to the target audience.
How to Get an International Sales Agent: Pitch Your Project!
Things to Know:
• What is a deal structure
• What is appealing to international markets
• Names - how to find out what names
• Genres
• Printed matter
• Trailers
• Box office and % by country

33. Trades
Free online trades and blogs include
www.IndieWIRE.com
www.TheWrap.com
www.FilmNewEurope.com/www.Cineuropa.
org
http://www.LatamCinema.com/
http://www.Middle-East-Online.com/
http://www.africafilms.tv/
http://www.filmbiz.asia/

34. Places to go for information which can serve
you in composing your pitch.
• BoxOfficeMojo.com
• Distributors of a film:
• Company Pages IMDb and IMDbPro.coms
• Distributors of a film: Screenbase.com
(ScreenDaily.com)
• International Sales Agents and Distributors of
a film: Cinando.com and IFTA.

35. Some Current Issues Facing the Distributors Market
Digital Delivery (Example: Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, Google, Amazon)
Day and Date Distribution (Example: IFC)
With the various exploitation windows closing, the trend is towards films
being released internationally on the same day as (or close to) their North
American release. This reduces the opportunities for piracy; enables
marketing campaigns from the US to roll over into other territories and
allows earlier exploitation of other windows. On the other hand, day and
date releasing requires that marketing spend must be committed
internationally before the studio knows how the film has played in the US.
It also reduces the time that the distributors have for sorting out dubbing,
classification and other issues in each territory and makes it less likely that
the talent will be available to promote it in as many markets. In practice,
decisions on release pattern will continue to be taken on a film by film
basis, with release dates generally moving closer to the initial US release.
Hybrid (Explained by Paradigm Consulting)
Some films are better using a mixture of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) distribution,
mixing companies to get the most out of all platforms.

36. http://www.festival-cannes.com/
http://www.marchedufilm.com/en

37. The Big Six
Major Studios

38. Top Tips
• Every market is different - marketing has to be tailored
to each territory.
• In Hollywood, everything is US-focused - which makes
marketing films in the rest of the world more difficult.
• Advance planning is the key to a successful release.
• Screen the film within the company as early and often
as possible to find out what people think and to build
up awareness of, and commitment to the project.
• In the future, more films will be released
Internationally closer to the US release date, but
timings will still be determined on a film by film basis.

39. Publicity and Advertising
The purpose of all advertising is to convince the client to go see
the movie. A great part of the movie’s income is based on the
convincing methods used with the clients.
• It is important is to investigate the country where the movie will be
played and think of and chose a name and campaign appropriate
for that country, even though it might slightly change the original
concept of the film.
• Each country has its own particular interest in movies. In some
countries they prefer action movies, in others comedy, chick flicks,
etc. The country’s preferences must be considered before making
a poster or movie trailer.
• The smallest detail in an advertising campaign could make the
difference between selling a movie and not having any success at
all.

40. The Title
The original name of the movie is sometimes
changed when it goes out of the country
where it was made, because some names or
some words when translated mean other
things from what is intended. With a title
change, one must also change all the posters,
ads and publicity to be consistent.

41. The Movie Poster
and Other Key Art
Marketing must decide what things should be
changed from the original poster to the ones
that are to be released in the rest of the world
depending on their culture. For example, in
Japan they love the romantic portraits.

43. Battle: Los Angeles (also known as Battle: LA and World Invasion:
Battle Los Angeles, and formerly known as Battle for Los Angeles)
is a 2011 military science fiction war film directed byJonathan Liebesman,
and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Ne-
Yo,Ramon Rodriguez, and Bridget Moynahan. The film is set in modern
day Los Angeles and follows a platoon of U.S. Marines during a
global alien invasion, who are joined by an Airman and someArmy
infantry. The events of the film are inspired by the Battle of Los Angeles,
a supposed World War II air raid of the city which turned out to be a false
alarm caused by several unidentified flying objects
Box office
Battle: Los Angeles debuted in 3,417 theaters, grossing $13,399,310 on
its opening day, which was the best opening-day gross for 2011 until the
record was surpassed by Fast Five. Overall the film made $35,573,187
and ranked #1 on its opening weekend ahead of Red Riding
Hoodand Mars Needs Moms.[39] The film dropped to #2 after a week
when Rango topped the box office on St. Patrick's Day. As of May 22,
2011, the film has grossed $83,552,429 in the United States
and Canadian markets and $118,914,327 in international markets, for a
worldwide total of $202,466,756.

44. The Actors
• Sometimes an actor is more famous in other countries
than in the U.S. There is a difference between being a
movie star and a celebrity, since celebrity is born from
fame and fashion, while a movie star is more
concentrated on the scripts than on popularity.
• Every sales agent suggests a different name.
• To make a convincing case: Take the name, look up the
films and their boxoffice by country.
(BoxOfficeMojo.com)
• The only blockbuster guarantee by actors is when the
movie has Johnny Depp and Will Smith.

45. Convincing the Audience,
Country by Country
• Some movies do great business in unimagined
countries. It might do great in Russia while in
the U.S. it was one of the worst movies.
• Graphic design, marketing and publicity need
to send the message the audiences want to
see and/or hear. The audience has to be
motivated, intrigued and feel the need to see
the specific movie or tv show.

46. The Biggest Blockbusters:
International vs. Domestic
Compare Indies to
Blockbusters
• www.The-Numbers.com
• www.BoxOfficeMojo.com

47. Overview International Territories
The increasing importance of the international market has been emphasized.
Studios split the International market into three main areas:
• Europe. Between 25 and 30% of their total worldwide business is done in Europe, where (in
order of admission numbers) the major markets are France, UK, Germany and Spain. Per
capita attendance in Europe is much lower than in North America, with an average of just 2
visits per person in 2002.
• Far East (including Australasia). The major markets in the Far East sector are Japan and
Australia, with South Korea growing fast
• Latin America. In Latin America, the two main markets are Mexico and Brazil.
• The fastest growing markets are the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, So. Africa)

48. THE AMERICAN POV
In 2011, Cambodia, a country emerging
from war, had one modern movie
theater for a population of nearly 15 million
people. But by the end of this year
there should be 19 theaters! And Pakistan
has gone from 20 screens in 2005 to
104 today - with another 100 under
construction.
Between these figures and the 1 billion
people around the world who watched
this year’s Oscars Ceremony there is a
very clear growing global demand and
growing global audience for our content.
That's new markets for our films, and
new audiences for all of us.

49. In 2013 the Asia Pacific region ($11.1
billion) surpassed EMEA and for the first
time became the top region in international
box office.
Chinese box office grew by 27% in U.S.
dollars to $3.6 billion, becoming the first
international market to exceed $3 billion in
box office revenue.
Latin America box office growth (+7%)
centered around major markets such as
Mexico (+16%) and Argentina(+8%).
Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) box
office increased 3%.
Russian box office ($1.4 billion) led the
region in growth (+11%).

50. Cultural Imperialism
Today the phrase “cultural imperialism” is used to describe the American
blockbusters’ hold on the theaters in various countries. Cultural imperialism is
said to have started as a result of the Marshall plan in every country which
received U.S. aid after WW2. It is countered by actions in those countries by the
“cultural exception” and I call the cultural imperative. The French were the first to
impose the form of protectionism called “The Cultural Exception” which mandated
that a certain amount of French films be made and shown in theaters (a
percentage of French screens would be automatically ‘held’ for locally produced
product and ‘foreign product’, i.e. U.S. films, limited to only so many screens).
This limited the U.S. hold and its potential dominance upon their film culture.
Today this cultural imperative has organically grown as countries develop their
own cinematic voices.
As other countries produce local films which are enthusiastically supported by
their own populace, the hold of the U.S. over the film industry worldwide
weakens. Today we see the U.S. studios shifting tactics, making internationally
appealing films based on cast, or financing local productions abroad.

51. Examples of Cultural Imperialism
• https://www.google.com/search?q=cultur
al+imperialism+examples&espv=210&es_
sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&e
i=Vmo5U4v8DYik2gW_hoCgBw&ved=0CA
gQ_AUoAQ&biw=1238&bih=679#facrc=_
&imgrc=ueav5eO3YJ-
UKM%253A%3BLWjwcRgM8Qo1HM%3Bh
ttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wsu.edu%25
2F~amerstu%252Fpop%252Fimages%252
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%252Fwikis.nyu.edu%252Fek6%252Fmod
ernamerica%252Findex.php%252FImperia
lism%252FCulturalImperialism%3B420%3
B296

52. The International Indies
• Flipside of the coin are the countries and their
filmmakers who are trying to get into “The Business”.
They find success usually with smaller niche type
audiences.
• Success is defined as beating the U.S. boxoffice
in their home country.
• The French call it the Cultural Exception.
• I call it the Cultural Imperative

53. In 2013 the Asia Pacific region ($11.1
billion) surpassed EMEA and for the first
time became the top region in
international box office.
Chinese box office grew by 27% in U.S.
dollars to $3.6 billion, becoming the first
international market to exceed $3 billion in
box office revenue.
Latin America box office growth (+7%)
centered around major markets such as
Mexico (+16%) and Argentina(+8%).
Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) box
office increased 3%.
Russian box office ($1.4 billion) led the
region in growth (+11%).

54. The International Film World
• 450 international sales agents
• 60 distribution territories
• 2,500 distributors from 60 territories
• 2,500 films per market
• 3 major markets: Cannes, AFM, Berlin
• 5 major festivals: Sundance, Toronto, Cannes,
Berlin, and …..

55. Places to go for information
• BoxOfficeMojo.com
• Distributors of a film: IMDbPro.com Company
Pages
• Distributors of a film: Screenbase.com
(ScreenDaily.com)
• International Sales Agents and Distributors of
a film: Cinando.com and IFTA.

56. PART III
ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

57. Some important sites give more information as to how DYI
(Do It Yourself) or hybrid types of distribution can work best
for filmmakers bypassing the traditional distribution
operations.
Peter Broderick
Welcome to the New World of Distribution.
The Film Collaborative is a not-for-profit company offering advice and in some
cases offering distribution across the digital platforms.
Truly Free Film. Scroll to the right side’s Truly Free Film Tools for other sites
of interest.
Film Specific is also a source of information for filmmakers.
 Power To The Pixel keeps updating transmedia issue and opportunities
IPEDA, financed by the EU, introduces potential VoD aggregators/distributors
to increase European works distribution outside of their national territories.
Sundance Artist Services is a Sundance initiative to help filmmakers navigate
the new world of digital fundraising and distribution

58. Video on Demand – a few of many examples
Kadokawa MovieGate and MovieWalker – Japan
Filmotech – Spain
MUBI – International Arthouse films
OnlineFilm.org - MEDIA funded
BFI
The largest :
Netflix
iTunes’
Amazon Prime
Hulu
Google
An in-between measure:
Amazon’s Create Space permits an individual filmmaker to order
DVDs to be created in whatever number is required, whether for
sales or for film festival submission.