Film Marketing and Distribution

This book will be valuable because it will create savvier filmmakers who understand the market, not just how to improve their films but why distributors can't take every project.

- Damian Spandley

INTRODUCTION

Making a film at any budget level is a monumental achievement, but getting people to actually pay to see it is a whole other challenge. If you're an independent filmmaker trying to figure out how to connect your work with audiences, you're not alone - and this book is here to help. Whether your film is still in development or ready to go to market, this guide is packed with practical advice on how to navigate the ever-changing world of independent film marketing and distribution.

While the focus here is primarily on the UK film industry - where I have spent more than 25 years collaborating with, and working for, independent distributors - I hope that the insights shared here will resonate with filmmakers worldwide. For those already in the business of movie marketing and distribution, this book might even serve as an entertaining and relatable read.

This is not an academic piece of work, nor do I approach this subject as an academic. Instead, its origins lie in blog articles I began writing on my website and on LinkedIn after going freelance in 2018. Liberated from the constraints of corporate life, I found myself able to speak candidly about the realities of film marketing and distribution for the first time. These articles quickly gained some traction, leading to invitations to share my expertise at various independent film festivals and film schools. I collaborated with film director Simon Hunter to create a bite-sized marketing and distribution course for Raindance Film School, taught at the MetFilm School, and provided marketing input to the prestigious Inside Pictures course in 2019, among other things.

What started as casual online musings grew into something larger. I was buoyed by the positive responses - industry peers stopped me at events to say they had enjoyed my posts, I received numerous comments on my LinkedIn articles and received direct feedback from filmmakers who found the advice to be both practical and actionable. These encouraging words were the spark behind putting together a more comprehensive resource and this book is the result of that.

Teaching 'the business of film' presents a unique challenge: the industry moves so quickly that even a brief absence can leave you feeling out of touch. It's an ecosystem in constant flux, where trends, platforms and audiences evolve at a relentless pace. Compounding this is the fact that many books on the subject feel bloated with extraneous information and are often presented so dryly that they fail to capture the dynamic, high-stakes environment of the film world, certainly as I know it.

This book, by contrast, is intended to be grounded in the gritty realities of independent film distribution - a sector where every release feels like a fragile newborn fighting against the odds to survive. My insights don't come from rehashing existing literature but are drawn from my own personal experiences as well as from countless hours of conversations with industry professionals, whose expertise breathes life into these pages.

When I started my career at a major global film studio, I was privileged to work with some of the largest marketing budgets of my life. But over time, as I transitioned to smaller companies and independent films, those budgets slowly dwindled. This progression from big budgets to micro-budgets was a real eyeopener. Successfully releasing an independent film with limited resources is a steep learning curve that demands creativity, resourcefulness and an unparalleled ability to stretch every penny. It's a skillset that I feel many who work in the larger studio system don't necessarily fully appreciate.

I once applied for a job at a major studio and was rejected on the grounds that I 'lacked experience with large enough theatrical marketing budgets'. I had to resist the urge to say, 'Try successfully launching a film with barely any money at all!'

That's a good test of a film marketer's abilities. It's not to diminish the complexity of blockbuster campaigns for films such as Wicked - those involve countless symbiotic moving parts - but large studio operations have entire departments dedicated to specific tasks. One team might handle third-party promotions while another focuses on premieres and yet another purely on social media management. For the independent filmmaker, however, many of these roles are often condensed into a single person - or a small, scrappy, team - juggling everything.

In the world of independent film marketing you often find yourself wearing multiple hats, managing every aspect of a campaign hands-on with just one or two other people to support you. It's an all-encompassing role that requires resourcefulness, versatility and an extraordinary level of energy and commitment.

Every year, thousands of independent films are produced, spanning a vast spectrum of budgets and production values. Some of these are passion projects, made purely for the love of storytelling, while others are crafted more with commercial success in mind. Yet, if financial gain were the main objective, most independent filmmakers would likely choose a less arduous path to getting rich. Much like the call of the stage and a live audience for performers, the urge to tell stories audio-visually is what drives so many creators to pour their time, resources and hearts into their work. However, passion - while essential - is not always enough. Passion doesn't translate into talent and even talent, combined with technical ability, doesn't always translate into success. Nevertheless, these are essential building blocks for the journey.

The harsh reality is that many independent films enter the market poorly prepared for any level of success. While some producers demonstrate a savvy understanding of market demands and craft tightly budgeted films aimed at a specific audience, even they may struggle to secure an international sales agent or an established distributor. Without these partnerships, filmmakers are often left to rely on middlemen known as 'aggregators', who list their films on digital and streaming platforms. While this might seem like an easy route to the market, it often leaves films languishing in a void of obscurity that it's difficult to ever return from. Aggregators typically provide minimal marketing support, which means filmmakers must tackle the daunting challenge of driving audience visibility themselves. Being listed on a platform is one thing, but being found and watched by an audience is quite another.

This disconnect can leave filmmakers frustrated and financially strained, despite their best efforts. Independent filmmakers must navigate an increasingly crowded market, where competition for attention is fierce and the mechanisms for discovery are often stacked against them. Understanding these challenges and addressing them with thoughtful strategies is critical to carving out even a modest level of success in today's ever-evolving industry.

The dream of seeing their work on the big screen often leads filmmakers to consider self-distribution - sometimes as a deliberate choice, but more often because they couldn't secure mainstream distribution. However, a film typically needs to be commercially viable with appropriate casting and budgeting to attract a distributor. If your film has been declined, attempting self-distribution can be a challenging and disheartening path. Distributors possess a deep understanding of the market and maintain regular communication with exhibitors, so if your film doesn't land a deal, it's likely because it isn't a strong enough theatrical prospect - not because the distributor made a monumental error, akin to Decca Records or EMI rejecting The Beatles.

Filmmakers can, however, take steps during the pre-production and production windows to increase their chances of securing a sales agent, distribution deals - or even direct sales to streaming platforms. Budgeting - with market relevance - crafting a compelling title, casting strategically and selecting a commercial genre are all crucial elements in this process. While these choices are generally seen as creative ones, more commercially conscious moves towards packaging a film could be likened to 'product development' in any other industry and that whole process tends to fall into the hands of a dedicated marketing team.

One of the key early business to business (B2B) marketing tasks that a filmmaker must consider is creating strong 'pitching' materials. Most writers and producers create what we call 'pitch decks' to present their projects to investors, sales agents and any other potential collaborators. We will cover this area in some detail, highlighting the value of setting up early film production social media profiles, creating 'proof-of-concept' trailers and designing 'sales' posters, all of which enhance a film's saleability and marketability.

Prepping useful marketing materials during production rather than after the fact is an essential but often neglected - or even overlooked - process. Rarely do independent film marketers receive high-quality on-set photography suitable for creating promotional materials and ultimately the main poster for...