Distribution: Coexistance is Possible
The competitive nature of the industry, the limited amount of screens and the high volume of films is
forcing independent filmmakers and smaller distributors to try different models to reach audiences. It’s a
world where old and new are destined to coexist.
Peter Castaldi, director of the new distribution company PackScreen, will be one of the first to experiment with hybrid models.
This year Castaldi has consulted on the traditional release of titles such as Accidents Happen and Playing for Charlie, but next month he will release The Tumbler in partnership with Umbrella Entertainment. The film will screen at independent cinemas Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, with the guarantee of a one-month run, and in the second half of that month, it will be available on DVD.
The deal with these cinemas is flexible in terms of the number of sessions; Pack Screen wants the one-month guarantee so rather than asking for 25-30 sessions across the week, it could be that same number of sessions over a month.
According to Castaldi, the fact that PackScreen will only release local titles makes it a perfect fit forindependent cinemas that show a broad range of titles but are currently limited in terms of the kind of Australian
product available.
“I’m dealing with individual cinemas with a minimum of five screens. I’m hoping that through the course of the first 12 months I can then build up to more screens,” explained Castaldi. “At this stage, I have to prove the business model. I f I went to Palace, Nova or Dendy, it would have to be a proven working business model, but I don’t think they will consider risking it because it’s not common business practice, it’s not a way of releasing product that’s been accepted in this market.”
“It works in North America; it’s a bigger market and there’s more potential and much more product. From my work with Hopscotch, for example, I know their attitude is to not even test those waters as they’re really trying to protect their DVD window, whereas this strategy is built on the nature of a very small theatrical release servicing the other windows as quickly as possible rather than having to rework the model for each one.”
In terms of advertising and publicity, the campaign will cover both the cinema and the DVD release. “It will be made quite clear that the film will only be on screen for a couple weeks and then on DVD. I get no value out of a print ad being seen in a city where the film is not screening, unless it says that it will be available on DVD on a certain date,” said Castaldi.
The aim is to eventually have the films in-flight and in hotels in the same window, and close the free-to-air TV and VOD windows around the DVD release.
Castaldi says other established distributors are aware of his plans and, while this hybrid model is something that needs to be tried in this territory, there will always be room for traditional releases -including Pack Screen’s upcoming titles Blame and X – and theatrical release is likely to retain its importance.
“I’ve been very open and I’m not trying to sneak around anyone. It’s a model that everybody accepts will eventually have to come into play in the broader market because it saves everyone money. If you have big budget films with big marketing allocations, you want to exploit every window to its maximum with all of the traditional holdback periods, but if you have a very small title with small market penetration, and limited marketing budget, you want to try and optimise the revenues as quickly as you possibly can.
“Theatrical will always have a kind of supremacy, because all of the other sales are tied to the theatrical presence of the film. If you’re an independent who’s made a film without any government money, you take it to a festival without a release, all you have is a DVD screener. But if you go with a full theatrical report, DVD sales, ancillaries sold in your domestic market, with the PR and the media spend and ads, then you’ve got a much better chance of selling your product internationally,” he explained.
CROSSING THE TORRENT TUNNEL
A different pack is trying another model, but it is one that sounds almost blasphemous, as it involves use of the industry’s most dreaded enemy: file sharing torrents.
Julian Harvey and Enzo Tedeschi launched the ‘135K project’ to raise funds for their film The Tunnel, which is set to be released online, worldwide, for free. The project is currently in production in Sydney.
“By giving away the film for free, we’re proving a point that nobody has been brave enough to tackle, that just because you’re giving it away for free doesn’t mean you can turn a buck on it,” said Tedeschi.
According to Harvey, the project is an experiment and, while they are certain it will work for their film because of its demographic, many questions are still up in the air.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get it right, if this is the perfect way forward, but looking at how the world is going, people will work out ways of doing it – whether it’s our way or a different way – and coexist with the old.
“Most films that come out are on torrents the moment they are released in cinemas, so illegally it’s already happening. They are already coexisting and people are still making money out of it, so we feel that people will work out ways to formalise it. Once people make money out of it, the industry will be able to move forward. I don’t see there’s any problem with the coexistence of those two things, it’s just a matter of how.”
Their online campaign invites people to buy one frame of film – 1 frame=$1, 135,000 frames=90 minutes of film. It raised $1,000 on its first day and, at press time, it had reached 9,347 out of 135,000 frames.
The ideas behind The Tunnel go beyond the idealistic dreams of a couple of filmmakers; this innovative approach has caught the attention of Andrew Denton and Anita Jacoby from Zapruder’s other films, who are on
board as mentors. Surprisingly, it has also been of interest to distributors, but that doesn’t mean the experiment will lose its direction.
“Despite the fact that we’re giving it away for free, we’ve had traditional distributors knocking on the door and saying ‘let’s have a chat’. The free torrent release is non-negotiable; we made this promise directly to our audience and we can’t afford to not deliver on it. Any traditional approach would have to work in tandem with that,” affirmed Tedeschi.
The producers believe that it is impossible to say when or if there will ever be clear distribution models for the digital age; a time when each project might have to find its own formula.
“The post mortem for this project will be interesting to look at, to see how profitable it will be, what’s worked and what hasn’t. You can’t find a one size fits all approach, not like the traditional distribution system where you make films, you go to a distributor, they get it to theatres and to DVD, etc. The smaller operators can’t afford to be complacent,” said Tedeschi.
OUTSIDE THE BOX OFFICE
The search for new models is a global quest. American hybrid distribution expert Jon Reiss was recently in Australia to present his Think Outside the Box Office seminar, supported by Screen Australia.
His main message is that independent filmmakers need to understand that there is no one way to release a film. According to Reiss, they need to consider their goals, their audience, their film and their resources, in relation to the three rights categories he has identified for film: live event theatrical, merchandise and digital.
“I don’t think it’s just Australian filmmakers who focus on traditional releases,” said Reiss. “Many in the US still think this way, as do others in Europe and elsewhere. We’re at the beginning of a shift of consciousness.”
In his opinion, after a “golden age of independent film distribution”, producers believed that if they made a film, someone else would handle the release, but they must now understand that it is increasingly their responsibility to connect their projects to an audience.
“They may partner with DVD distributors or digital aggregators, but they’ll spend a lot more time and money doing this than they ever have previously,” argued Reiss.
Reiss is an advocate for the creation of a new role, the “producer of marketing and distribution” – a role for which he happens to provide training through his book, workshops and specialised workshops.
And, like Castaldi, Tedeschi and Harvey, he agrees that new models are about alternatives, and not a replacement for more traditional distribution methods.
“Some will have the resources and desires for traditional theatrical releases; others may want to do worldwide day-and-date screenings and releases, or take a slower, more grassroots rollout, and even release it on bit torrents.
“The studios will still use their traditional models; however, those are shifting rapidly as well – such as the shortened international window for Alice in Wonderland. You will see a plethora of models exist side by side for some time,” he said.
WATCH THIS SPACE
Just how much are Australia’s traditional distributors willing to experiment with their models and windows?
For Roadshow’s Joel Pearlman, traditional windows still provide the best opportunity to maximise the performance of films in the marketplace. The theatrical to DVD window is important to protect the exhibition sector and encourage them to invest in their cinemas.
“There needs to be a strategic reason, from a revenue perspective, for collapsing windows. There will be continuing pressure on all aspects of the business to maximise the performance of film releases, but from where I sit, it’s about looking at the model which is going to best protect and ensure the strongest performance out of each of our titles,” said Pearlman.
At Sony, it’s “‘Watch This Space’ for the industry globally,” according to Stephen Basil-Jones. “The business model has changed, as it did for the music industry. Home entertainment revenue streams have diminished
and we need to look at how to recover that lost money, which was a primary source for production finance. We also have to listen and react to the threats of piracy, and consumers’ new demands on when and how they want to consume their entertainment.”
Hopscotch is “very cautious in this regard,” in the words of Troy Lum. “We will only move from this position if there is an industry-wide change.”
For Mark Sarfaty, president of the Independent Cinemas Association of Australia (ICAA), distributors and exhibitors in Australia are a small community that looks after each other. “Any notion of a 30-day window
would be damaging to the theatrical business. The theatrical business being strong benefits everybody; it’s where you first get the interest of audiences.”
