"Filmmakers need to be focused on and building their audience and that direct relationship. Even if you get lucky and get a distributor, distributors don't know who the **** your audience is either." - Brian Newman
"Be willing to engage early and often with platforms that are trailblazing and be open to redefining how we think about content distribution." - Samuel Harowitz
Been thinking deeply about how hard it can be to build an audience for a film (because I've been in the trenches doing just that for really excellent, worthy stories these last few months.) My biggest tip from having run a film festival and helped launch film premieres for hundreds of films in my time - don't wait until after you finish the film to start building your audience. I know it sounds impossible (who could think about building an audience while also .. making the film..) but - if you can't do both, bring on smart people early in the process to talk about strategic partnerships, share early rough-cut screeners with stakeholders in the community that your film wants to reach. Launch a crowdfunding campaign for some of your funds, and reach new audiences on crowdfunding platforms.
As the wise Jon Reiss said recently on "The No Film School" podcast - an audience building/ marketing plan should "begin at conception" (of a film idea.)
Don't despair if you're coming to this later than that - but DO invest in hiring someone smart like Jon Reiss and Together Films to make sure your film reaches the people you want it to in the end.
Here’s what it would take to build an indie film super-streamer and how filmmakers can find their perfect audience, according to Keri Putnam, Brian Newman, and Samuel Harowitz.
🔗 Watch the full #FutureOfFilmmaking conversation: https://trib.al/605vKFi
