NORDISK FORUM SEMINAR:

The Ever-Evolving Documentary Marketplace with Jan Röfekamp / Films Transit, Montreal

Time: Monday 24 September 19:30 - 21:30
Venue: NUKU Big Hall

1. Theatrical: REALITY OR MYTH?

Many documentaries today are made as feature length docs, but only a handful of docs make it into the theaters.
 
Determining whether a doc is a THEATRICAL doc is to a certain point a bit of a shot in the dark and does not always take place before a doc gets into production. Once a film has been shot and rough-edited only then one can truly get the strength of a film and find out if it works as a long format.
 
Whether a feature documentary is or turns into a theatrical doc is dependent on many factors, some of them can be determined before the production, but some of them cannot.
 
And then: where are the markets and what kind of deal can one make?
 

2. International Film Festivals: A Strategy

There are hundreds of wonderful film festivals around the world, and if you've made a really good film many festivals will want to show it and have you attend.
 
But there are festivals AND festivals and one needs a clear head and maybe some help to figure out how to go about it.
 
The intention is to help you focus and strategize the national and international launch of your feature documentary film (as distinguished from short documentary films, although much also applies):
 
The "Launchpads",The A-list, The B-list, the Specialty fests. All of them want your film, but where to start and what choice to make in your goal of attaining maximum exposure and success for your new film.
 

3. THE NEW MEDIA

Today the traditional distribution models: broadcast, cinema and dvd, have become more of a BARRIER for many filmmakers than offering opportunities. The traditional distribution channels have always been and are today full of restrictions: Content rules and regulations, Length restrictions, Available slots, Financial considerations, Ratings and Viewers, Costs factors, Artistic opinions, a story is too local, story to far away from our viewers…etc etc
 
HOWEVER:
 
Beyond these barriers are the 100's of 1000's, maybe even millions of people interested in a huge variety of issues and content, for professional reasons, for personal reasons, for any reason…
 
In the past, reaching these  "eyeballs" was virtually impossible on a global level. Today hundreds of thousands of them are organized in communities on the Internet and these are the new audiences one can now reach and in the future via THE INTERNET.
 
This is a power Indie filmmakers never have had....