NATPE Oberservations

Oh Lord, is it a sad state of affairs for indie films here
at NATPE!

I walked around the sales floor today and noticed all the small sales companies trying to sell packages of low budget indies to various domestic and international broadcasters and it just seems like they're selling them by the pound...

I just kept thinking - with the tools we have at our disposal these days, it's gotta be a better idea to build the profile of your film via self-distribution and grass-roots buzz before taking it to the market.

If you can build the profile of your film through self-
distribution channels, you will have a much better shot at selling your film as a premium property, rather than just as by the pound.

Just look at what Robert Greenwald does with his films via House Parties and email campaigns....even just doing that raises his film's profile....and immediately raises the value of his film to the marketplace.

What does that mean exactly? It means he'll have broadcasters coming to HIM, instead of him chasing broadcasters...and it means they'll actually pay him a decent licensing fee rather than his film being unloaded for a few thousand bucks by some sales company in a 'package deal'.

In other news....

Sundance is gearing up to start and I can't help noticing all the hoopla surrounding the pod casts, video casts, iTunes downloads and all the rest that's going to be taking place for Sundance films, panels, and other happenings.

Even Sundance is fully harnessing the power of the internet to build buzz for all their films now...what a powerful tool.I can't wait to see if that means more distribution for all the films involved....because we all know that only a small percentage of the films at Sundance actually get distribution
deals.

So where does that leave the rest of us? If only a small percentage of films get into Sundance in the first place, and of those films only a small percentage get distribution deals, then the rest of us have to figure out how to get around the system and make it on our own.

Which is fine....that's what we're expecting to do anyway...and once again, thankfully we now have the tools at our disposal to go it on our own.

That's all for now...any thoughts?

Regards,
Stacey*
PS: Self Distribution Starter Kit can kick-start your
distribution strategy....check it out here at:
www.selfdistributeyourfilm.com or

PPS: Someone asked me if Insiders Guide To Film Distribution
is still available...answer is YES...you can get it here at:
www.film-distribution-secrets.com