Cinequest

(Peter Belsito is Sydney Levine's partner and he recently attended the Festival and moderated a panel at Cinequest)

'The Panel on new and traditional forms of the film business was certainly a highlight of this wonderful Fest this year for me. It was very well attended in a big hall and the panel experts from the industry offered hundreds of filmmakers a glimpse into the future of distribution--both traditional theatrical and the latest cutting-edge Internet options.

We have heard so much lately of digital this and DIY that and I think that what is forgotten is that although these developments of technology have offered us new (and welcome!) options, the fact is that the film business such as it is still exits and, if the recent Berlin Fest and EFM Market is any evidence, is quite vigorously alive and kicking and must and should be taken into account by filmmakers, whether they go DIY or not.

Cinequest's strength and position as one of the foremost US Festivals is its focus on filmmakers always and its cutting edge programming tastes. My friend and fest knowledgeable guy Christian Gaines (formerly Hawaii FF Head, AFI Fest Head, now Festival Head of IMDb) once said, "The way you judge a festival is not by any one year but by the way it steadily delivers quality events and experiences year after year ..." I could not agree more and Cinequest this year by its lineup and programs has gone on once again to prove its first ranking place among US Festivals.'

Releasing on Digital Platforms - First Samplings

Thomas Mai of Festival Darlings who is hosting a conference in Berlin on crowd sourcing says that a filmmaker can expect to make between $50 - $1000 per month per platform (some more, some less).  If there are also social media campaigns, this number can increase a lot. A release should go to about 25 -40 platforms, including iTunes/ Amazon/ NetFlix/ Hulu etc. Making a digital master is not expensive, but each platform uses its own format so a filmmaker might need to come up with 12-15 different format versions which can cost about $500 each. The master should cost around $1200-$1500. 

To book a place at "Dawn of The Micro Major Film Producer: Everything you want to know about VOD and Crowdfunding"" on 16 February at 09:00 until 1:00 at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, click here.

Thomas has come a long way as has film itself since he began at the onset of Lars Von Trier's company Trust when Von Trier was calling the shots for indie filmmakers with his Dogma 95 rules of filmmaking. He has since sold his international sales company to Nordisk and Thomas has moved on as the only European international sales agent (perhaps with the exception of Celluloid Dreams) to fully embrace the digital technology as the answer to the crisis faced by international sales and distribution.


The quick and dirty on Sundance film's Bass Ackwards which went on You Tube during the festival for a limited time per producer Gil Holland:  Going the web route is possible for them because the film only cost $30,000 to make. The YouTube experiment is a first for the festival – a half-dozen current and former Sundance entries are being promoted on the video services front page for full download.

By the second day of the festival, “Bass Ackwards” had 289 downloads, Holland said – generating about $600 for the filmmakers. “That’s about 2 percent of our shooting budget.” said the producer.

So the first experiment has occurred but in my opinion, the "experts" are being too quick to predict results!  See the report below:

UPDATE: NewTeeVee has this report on the You Tube experiment:

Written by Ryan Lawler
Posted Monday, January 25, 2010 at 4:39 PM PT
YouTube Users Pass on Paying for Movies

Indie filmmakers looking to YouTube as a possible new distribution outlet might want to think twice, based on weekend returns from the video site’s new movie rental service. Last week, the online video site teamed up with the Sundance Film Festival to make a small selection of critically acclaimed full-length films available for rent for 48 hours.

But, despite a post on the YouTube blog and pickup from various tech blogs, very few users have actually taken YouTube up on the offer. Based on a quick look through the movies that were made available, it appears that YouTube viewers rented the five films less than 1,500 times in total, or an average of 300 times each. At $3.99 a piece, that means the indie films generated less than $6,000 in total sales over the course of the weekend, or about $1,200 per movie — and that’s before YouTube took its cut for hosting the files.

Video Views:

Bass Ackwards 308
Homewrecker 308
The Cove 303
Children of Invention 301
One Too Many Mornings 250

That’s bad news for the films involved, and could be bad news for YouTube, which is looking for new ways to monetize videos through sales and rentals. While the films are independently produced and haven’t generated the same amount of buzz as some Hollywood blockbusters, the low view counts are surprising, given the buzz before the film festival and prominent “featured” placement from YouTube.

The good news for YouTube is that it’s still expected to become profitable this year. In a recent research note, Barclay’s Capital analyst Doug Anmuth suggested that YouTube would add to Google’s bottom line for the first time in 2010, with revenues growing more than 55 percent year-over-year to $700 million.

Take Digital Control of Your Project: Berlin workshop with Stacey Parks and Thomas Mai for

Thomas Mai of Festival Darlings invites you to "Dawn of The Micro Major Film Producer: Everything you want to know about VOD and Crowdfunding"" on 16 February at 09:00 until 1:00 at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin.  Support comes from Screen Daily as does the text of this blog.  I post it here because Thomas has come a long way as has film itself since he began at the onset of Lars Von Trier's company Trust when Von Trier was calling the shots for indie filmmakers with his Dogma 95 rules of filmmaking.  He has since sold his international sales company to Nordisk and Thomas has moved on as the only European international sales agent (perhaps with the exception of Celluloid Dreams) to fully embrace the digital technology as the answer to the crisis faced by international sales and distribution.

The event aims to inform attendees how to stay on top of the changes in financing and distribution models and teach producers how to take control of their projects in the new world. For more information or to book you seat, please click here.

Parks and Mai will cover topics such as:
- engaging and aggregating your audience via social media platforms;
- bringing on marketing and promotional partners for your film at various stages of production;
- executing effective email campaigns to your target audience;
- leveraging crowd funding for financing your next film and combining it with traditional forms of financing;
- combining crowd funding with other traditional forms of financing;
- optimizing your film’s website for direct-to-consumer sales;
- maximizing VOD revenue:
- capitalizing on specialty screenings.

“The whole film business as we know it is rapidly changing and for the independent producer it is one of the best times ever to be a producer,” said Mai. “No more gatekeepers and no more exclusivity means that you can fully finance, shoot and distribute your own films worldwide through the internet. It is now possible to be truly independent and make money while you are sleeping as a producer. We have created this event to help producers not only understand the new tools but also teach them how to use them.”
Added Parks: “We want to teach film producers how to leverage all the new opportunities out there to make better films for audiences, and to actually be able to sustain a career making films. That’s everything from fund raising, to promoting, and of course distribution. There are so many new and different platforms out there, and we want to show filmmakers how to make the most of all of it.”

Parks has been a sales agent since 2001 and, after several years in the trenches of film and programme distribution, wrote the book “The Insider’s Guide To Independent Film Distribution” in 2007. At the same time, she launched FilmSpecific.com, a website dedicated to educating film-makers about film financing, distribution and marketing. In 2009, she launched Media Sparks Entertainment and currently focuses on film and TV projects for all media platforms.

Mai, who was formerly head of Trust Film Sales from 1998 to 2000 and head of new business at TrustNordisk from 2006 to 2009, has produced four feature films and is a well-known speaker on new digital possibilities.

Digital Exhibition and the Festivals

What are film festivals doing in increase distribution possibilities for their filmmakers and how are they using digital technology to do this and enhance their own position at the same time?

1) Sundance Film Festival is debuting films through VOD under a label called "Sundance Selects".  Three films that premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will debut simultaneously into 40 million US households, via cable systems and satellite TV. The films will then be available for viewing for 30 days.  The films include Michael Winterbottom's and Mat Whitecross's sociopolitical documentary The Shock Doctrine, Benny and Josh Safdie's comedy Daddy Longlegs, and Daniel Grou's drama 7 Days (Les 7 Jours du Talion).

"Moving the storytelling of the Sundance Film Festival beyond 10 days in Utah remains a top priority for us," said actor Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute, about bringing the event to a wider audience, including selected screenings of Sundance films in other US cities.

The Shock Doctrine, which screened at the 2009 Berlinale debuts January 28th. Based on Naomi Klein's book, subtitled ‘The Rise of Disaster Capitalism' the screening is followed by an onstage dialogue the author, Redford, and filmmaker Winterbottom.

The Safdies' Daddy Longlegs (previously known as Go Get Some Rosemary at its premiere at Cannes last year), is an autobiographical bittersweet comedy that screens January 22. Grou's 7 Days, described as the story of a doctor whose world is upended by his daughter's murder. The Canadian feature debuts January 22 at midnight program.

2) Sundance Institute today announced a collaboration with YouTube to make available for rent three world-premiere films from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Beginning today, films will be spotlighted on the YouTube homepage, after which they will also be available until January 31 at YouTube Movies. Two audience favorites from the 2009 Festival will also be made available for rental.

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival said, “It has been our goal this year to find opportunities for our filmmakers by linking them to our technology partners and YouTube has been a great sponsor and partner. The You Tube commitment to independent film is aligned with ours at Sundance. This begins a new age of connecting our artists directly to audiences.”

From 2010, three world-premiere films from the Festival’s new NEXT section – highlighting innovative and original work in low- and no-budget filmmaking – will be available:

Bass Ackwards (Director and screenwriter: Linas Phillips)—After ending a disastrous affair with a married woman, a man embarks on a lyrical, strange and comedic cross-country journey in a modified VW bus. Cast: Linas Phillips, Davie-Blue, Jim Fletcher, Paul Lazar. World Premiere

Homewrecker(Directors: Todd Barnes and Brad Barnes; Screenwriters: Todd Barnes, Brad Barnes, Sophie Goodhart)—The last romantic in New York City is an ex-con locksmith on work release. Cast: Ana Reeder, Anslem Richardson, Stephen Rannazzisi. World Premiere

One Too Many Morning (Director: Michael Mohan; Screenwriters: Anthony Deptula, Michael Mohan, Stephen Hale)—Two damaged young men recover their high school friendship by awkwardly revealing to each other just how messed up they've become. Cast: Anthony Deptula, Stephen Hale, Tina Kapousis. World Premiere

From 2009, two highly acclaimed films:

The Cove (Director: Louie Psihoyos)—The horrors of a secret cove nestled off a small, coastal village in Japan are revealed by a group of activists. 2009 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner. Available for one 24-hour period only.

Children of Invention (Director and screenwriter: Tze Chun)—Two young children living outside Boston are left to fend for themselves when their mother gets embroiled in a pyramid scheme and disappears. Chun was selected as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film.

The films will be available for rental from January 22 - 31. The price for rental will be $3.99, and includes an unlimited number of views during a 48-hour period (with the exception of The Cove which will be a 24-hour window). Filmmakers receive the majority of the revenue share, and none of the participating filmmakers opted to have a cap on streams - meaning there will be no limit to how many rentals can be purchased during the 10-day period. As of January 31, the films will no longer be available under their current deal with YouTube, however the filmmakers will be able to negotiate new deals with YouTube.

YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

For a festival that has built a reputation as a marketplace for new American work for nearly two years, the moves to bring Sundance films to audiences via VOD during the event marks a noteworthy shift as filmmakers try to cash in on the Sundance name, hoping that it will drive immediate interest in their work.

UPDATE:  NewTeeVee has this report on the You Tube experiment:

Written by Ryan Lawler



Posted Monday, January 25, 2010 at 4:39 PM PT

YouTube Users Pass on Paying for Movies

Indie filmmakers looking to YouTube as a possible new distribution outlet might want to think twice, based on weekend returns from the video site’s new movie rental service. Last week, the online video site teamed up with the Sundance Film Festival to make a small selection of critically acclaimed full-length films available for rent for 48 hours.



But, despite a post on the YouTube blog and pickup from various tech blogs, very few users have actually taken YouTube up on the offer. Based on a quick look through the movies that were made available, it appears that YouTube viewers rented the five films less than 1,500 times in total, or an average of 300 times each. At $3.99 a piece, that means the indie films generated less than $6,000 in total sales over the course of the weekend, or about $1,200 per movie — and that’s before YouTube took its cut for hosting the files.

Video Views:

Bass Ackwards 308

Homewrecker 308

The Cove 303

Children of Invention 301

One Too Many Mornings 250



That’s bad news for the films involved, and could be bad news for YouTube, which is looking for new ways to monetize videos through sales and rentals. While the films are independently produced and haven’t generated the same amount of buzz as some Hollywood blockbusters, the low view counts are surprising, given the buzz before the film festival and prominent “featured” placement from YouTube.

The good news for YouTube is that it’s still expected to become profitable this year. In a recent research note, Barclay’s Capital analyst Doug Anmuth suggested that YouTube would add to Google’s bottom line for the first time in 2010, with revenues growing more than 55 percent year-over-year to $700 million.


3) The San Francisco Bay Area’s California Film Institute is launching a non-profit division to distribute films theatrically.

Dubbed CFI Releasing, the new unit will kick-off with Marin County residents Noah and Logan Miller’s “Touching Home.” The film stars Ed Harris, Robert Forster, Brad Dourif as well as Lee Meriwether, and also includes the Millers in their acting debut. It is based on their own story.

The film will be have a limited release this spring, launching in seven markets including San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Denver. It will open in April with a gala premiere at the California Film Institute’s Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA.

“Our focus going forward will be on distributing independent films with an original voice that have something distinctive to say,” said CFI’s Fishkin, in a statement. “Our distribution arm will develop organically in a productive way that supports the organization, while supporting who we are and what we do. Our hope is that these films and their filmmakers will greatly benefit from our long film festival and theatrical presentation experience.”

4) Slamdance has announced a worldwide video content collaboration with Microsoft on both Zune and Xbox platforms.  Zune video Marketplace will make the selected films available on video-on-demand across North America on both Zune and Xbox platforms. During this 7-day period movie fans have the opportunity to rent some of the same films being screened at the Slamdance Film Festival on their computers or through Xbox LIVE. Price per film rentals during the festivals will range from 600 to 880 Microsoft Points*.


Thereafter, the video content from Slamdance will expand worldwide through the Zune Marketplace with year-round programs featuring download to own and rental videos to the more than 20 million Zune and Xbox LIVE members. The first films in the collaboration include two documentaries and two narratives, showcasing Slamdance’s range of emerging diverse and independent voices.







The initiative will launch during the festival on January 27 with a four-film, seven-day programme providing video rental throughout North America.



The films are the documentaries American Jihadist and Mind Of The Demon: The Larry Linkogle Story, as well as the fictional titles The Scenesters and The Wild Hunt.



Online film store Zune Marketplace will make the selected films available on VOD across North America on both Zune and Xbox platforms.



During the seven-day period customers will have the opportunity to rent some of the same films being screened at Slamdance on their computers or through Xbox LIVE. Film rental costs during the festival will range from 600 to 880 Microsoft Points.



After the initial window, video content from Slamdance will expand worldwide through the Zune Marketplace with year-round programmes featuring download-to-own and rental videos to Zune and Xbox LIVE members.



Additional Slamdance films will be added to the programme throughout the festival, which runs in Park City from January 21-28 –

Filmotech: A European Digital Distribution Case Study

Ricardo Fraguas of the MEDIA Desk Hellas discussed the European perspective of digital distribution during November's Thessaloniki Int'l Film Festival.

In Spain 132.000.000 downloads of films per year take place.

Connecting to http://www.sinlamula.com/ allows for free streaming movies on-line. It is also linked with official sites of on-line Distribution such as  FILMOTECH , the platform of on-line distribution with all the Spanish producers. It it are sections of films from England as well as Spain. The aim of the platform is the lawful downloading plus security for user competitively to the distribution  at Dvd prices. In the future there will be sections of films from Germany and Greece.

An already existing section is dedicated to free downloading of short films. The cost of digitalization was covered by Filmotech for the 242 available films.

Microsoft has covered security accreditation, quality and the abiity of the user to copy a DvD of the download. Use Windows Media Player via a codec file format Mpg for buying or renting movies.

65% of revenues are paid to producers of the project. The Treaty between the platform and the manufacturer is not exclusive use with the most common concession rights movement for one year.

Producers can access the database platform to check the numbers of rentals. There is a flexible pricing structurel and fees vary from fil to film, though the normal fee for 7 days rental is 2 € The price to buy a Dvd is 6 €.

Experimental tests are ongoing for simultaneous distribution of the film on the site and in the theatres.

Discussion: GLITNER | LinkedIn

Glitner is a European based and a European funded digital rights management platform. An interesting discussion takes place on GLITNER via LinkedIn: What would facilitate the emergence of business models not based on territorial copyrights?

In the digital environment it is essential to remove artificial barriers to the circulation of creative content and to competitive market, while promoting and protecting cultural diversity.

One of the models discussed was one brought up last year at AFM by Brent V. Friedman in the panel "Web Entrepreneurs: Imagination Meets Commerce" Let us see what a difference a year has made: You can watch the video of the conference here: http://bit.ly/2p6JPx where a producer managed to get some product placement built-in the production, and actually managed to do some profit-sharing both ways in VoD (from the platform back to him as a rights holder, and from him to the platform as an in-build advertisement revenue stream on a per click model). The net net effect was in fact to the profit of the rights holder (the platform would give more than it received), and it allowed him to be more competitive that other rights holders in terms of visibility by giving an incentive to the platform to put his content upfront...

Another model has been proposed by WeVision.