Where do indie films belong now? A guide for first time filmmakers.
First…a history
Independent filmmaking started in the 1940s when camera equipment became affordable to any person with an interest or desire to create a film. Often films were created without financial support from large studios such as MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers etc hence “independent from the studio”.
Little Fugitive 1953
Artistry was often emphasized more than entertainment and indie films garnered much praise from festivals and the Academy. Little Fugitive by Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin was the first independent film to be nominated for an Academy Award in 1954.
This was also the time for avant-garde style filmmaking in New York and The French New Wave happening in France. It was a common belief that the ” ‘official cinema’ was ‘running out of breath’ and had become ‘morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, [and] temperamentally boring’ “.
MPAA rating from 1969
In the 1960’s and 70’s audiences had a love/hate relationship with theatrical releases of independent film. With no code or rating system the audience was left unsuspecting to disturbing content. And with Science fiction and Horror film blossoming in the independent world came realistic gore films like George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead which was the last film to be theatrically released before MPAA rating system was established by Hollywood.
Independent films can still release films without an audience rating system as it is simply voluntary by filmmakers but often theaters, television and VOD sites have their own restrictions and labeling systems. From my experience most VOD distributors would prefer you not to be rated by the MPAA.
we belong, don’t we?
But where do indie films belong today? Finding theatrical space is quite hard for most filmmakers. And how do you fill those seats with no marketing budget? Large studio films are struggling to bring in audiences to theatre seating and I think it’s definitely tougher for small distributors to do the same.
The best bet for filmmakers today is VOD. Whether you self distribute (very possible if you have an engaged audience) or work with a distributor (who is better acquainted with the VOD game) — you are in luck! Now is the perfect time to sell your online rights or self distribute as there is a major buying frenzy happening with VOD monsters like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and Cable online subscriptions. They all want to be VOD King! And they want your indie film. Time to capitalize on the need for material.
And! If you happen to have a film that falls into the favored genre of Documentary or Horror you win out even more. Even RomComs do well with VOD buyers. If you have a “niche” or specialized audience your odds of making a nice profit are “cha-ching!” even better! (I’ll do a post about what to ask for in your distribution agreements because not all deals are equal.)
film festivals
Many indie filmmakers with super duper low budgets struggle with film festivals. It surely isn’t the same game it was 5, 10 or 20 years ago. Hollywood’s new wave of “indie” filmmaking with million dollar plus budgets and star names galore have taken over even smaller sized festivals. Making no room for us little guys. Festivals love marketing “we’re indie” “we’re small” “we’re arthouse funky” but in reality most are just businesses like anything else and they want to make a profit. They want attendance and press coverage. It takes a lot of pull to get warm bodies out and in seats and that means names.
So for us little guys how do we get our work in the festival circut? Our little films that we created with less than 100k or even 25k for that matter.
To be honest — it’s brutal in the festival world. You gotta know someone and sometimes that doesn’t even work. Recently, I had a good friend, who works for a medium sized state side festival, tell me — confidentially of course — “that most films don’t even get watched.” Brutal! Like I said before.
So, how do you favor your odds of getting into a festival and/or at least be watched by one? Submit early. Cast a name. That’s about it. Think about the amount of money you will spend on submitting to festivals…thousands! Casting at least one name — even a small day player role will help your odds. It will pay you back ten fold when it comes time for festivals and distribution. You don’t have to have the budget for a big fish but when doing casting why not try for “names preferred” and see what happens. You might get your script read by someone really great and you can try to negotiate day rates. You never know what can happen. And of course, cast someone that is actually right for the role — that should go without having to be said.
conclusion
The bleak side of being an independent ultra low budget filmmaker shouldn’t depress you. Or make you forget you are an artist with a passion. Your films belong in this world! You are still the creative wonderful person you are — you just need to develop the business savvy to get your work out there. It’s the other half of the coin. The one most people don’t want to think about. It’s a lot work with a lot of fine print at the end of the marathon you’ve just run.
And if you are just hoping for exposure — consider self publishing on YouTube or Vimeo for free. If it’s good work — people will consume it and share it. It could lead to other possibilities for you and it’s a great place to be. But before you do that — try and screen it yourself. Rent out a small film screening space or an outdoor space with a projector or heck even an black box theatre space and borrow a projector and screen. Invite local press to review it (either through a screener beforehand or at the event) and ask that they encourage their reading audience to attend. You can garner some great coverage this way and get some feedback before uploading online.
Thanks for reading!