IMPACT DISTRIBUTION AND THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Note: This blogpost was written during the first few days of the lockdown.
Since then, the industry has implemented many changes, forged collaborations and moved in new, different and exciting directions. With that in mind, advice from this early blog still applies.
These are extraordinary times for everyone, including media makers planning a new release or trying to navigate a recently released film as we face conflicting information and rapid developments from the novel coronavirus crisis. We are as stunned and confused as everyone else, but after some reflection, we feel that we need to think fast in the face of adversity and find ways to pivot and adapt to the temporary circumstances. So, here are nine suggestions for filmmakers and producers that can help change your mindset and hopefully encourage you to move ahead to share your film with the world:
1) If your documentary already had a film festival premiere and you’re not planning a large semi-theatrical campaign, consider going digital. Talk to your distributor, impact producer or agent and implement next steps to choose a platform that best suits your film needs. On the other hand, if your film was about to launch and it doesn’t address an urgent topic, consider waiting. While there is lots of uncertainty, this crisis will eventually end and it’s not harmful to postpone your launch for a few months given the extraordinary circumstances.
2) Engage your PR and marketing teams to create and/or improve marketing materials and digital assets for your documentary. This is a good time to get prepared to shine later in the year and the importance of these materials can never be underestimated.
3) Consider a temporary 'digital screening room' for your documentary so that your doc can still engage an audience and you can build valuable connections with fans for your future distribution, not to mention some much needed revenue.
4) How is your social media? Could your website use a refresher? This is a great time to analyze, edit, post and be more active about how your doc looks like online and what needs improvement to reach the right audience.
5) People have extra time in their hands so attempt to build new relationships with potential film partners using videoconference platforms. Partnership building takes a long time anyway, so you might as well start now!
6) Ask film festivals opening in the fall and winter of 2021 if they would consider additional flexibility with their required completion date. For example, if a festival taking place in the spring of 2021 usually would require that “documentaries must have been completed on or after February, 2020,” they could subtract 3 to 6 months from this date to give films affected by the crisis a bigger window and a fighting chance.
7) If you submitted to a film festival that cancelled and didn’t notify you whether or not your documentary was selected, ask them to allow you to re submit for their next edition. If you documentary was selected, work with the festival to find out how to leverage potential reviews or awards.
8) If you are in the early stages of distribution planning, focus on fundraising for your distribution campaign. Many deadlines are coming up in the spring. This searchable directory by the International Documentary Association should help: https://www.documentary.org/grants-directory
9) Take care of yourself, your friends, family, and community. Follow safety precautions as stated in http://bit.ly/39K6nAd and take it easy on yourself and others.
The documentary community is strong and resilient. We can and will do this together.