The Documentary Distribution Toolkit: How to Get Out, Get Seen, and Get an Audience

Description

Mapping out a diverse journey through documentary distribution, this book is a comprehensive global how-to reference guide providing insights into the landscape of documentary distribution; targeting the right audiences to expand the reach of your documentary; and building a sustainable career. Detailing how to prepare your documentary, strategies for crowdfunding, working with documentary organizations and online platforms, and outlining the channels to consider, The Documentary Distribution Toolkit demystifies the process of distributing your documentary. Featuring case studies and interviews including filmmaker Alice Elliot, representatives from public television stations such as ARTE, ZDF, Al Jazeera, TRT (Turkey), NHK, as well as drawing on author Rachel Gordon’s over 20 years of experience working in documentary distribution. Foregrounding documentaries for non-profit and educational purposes, each chapter gives guidance on how to think locally and globally, on money matters to consider, and personal questions to answer before proceeding to help filmmakers manage their time, money, and energy wisely. This book empowers the filmmaker to distribute their documentary in an effective and strategic manner. Providing concrete advice on how to navigate the documentary ecosystem beyond the classroom, this is the ideal book for professional and emerging documentary filmmakers, as well as students who are looking to distribute their documentary films. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Foreword Preface 1. Prepare Yourself: Think Before You Shoot What You Can Expect Think Local and Global Making Actionable Goals The Importance of Being Good and Networking Overall Professional Advice Cut It Up: Know Your Audience: Communication Is Important: Get Good Shots: Good Work Takes Time: Money Matters: Questions Before Moving Forward The Role of Distributors and Sales Agents Distributors Sales Agents Streaming Platforms Distribution in the Internet Age Key Takeaways Conclusion Bibliography 2. The Hard Work of Crowdfunding What They Did: Crowdfunding Impacts Documentary Films Crowdfunding Phase I: Preparing For Launch Crowdfunding Phase II: The Campaign Itself Crowdfunding Phase III: Post-Campaign, Building a Long-Term Audience Think Local and Global Building an Audience: Partnerships Building an Audience: Events Crowdfunded Events Money Matters Crowdfunding Sites Used and How They Work Kickstarter Indiegogo Seed & Spark GoFundMe Patreon How to Financially Prepare: Tax Implications of Crowdfunding Key Takeaways Conclusion Bibliography 3. Documentary Organizations Worth Your Time and Money What They Did Their Best Advice Think Local and Global Money Matters Documentary Organizations: An Introduction to the Ecosystem AG DOK Ambulante Balkan Documentary Center BeirutDC Brown Girls Doc Mafia Chile Doc China Federation of Radio and Television Associations China Television Artists Association (CTAA) Close Up Initiative Doc China Doc/It DOC NYC Doc Society Documentary Association of Europe Documentary Association of Pakistan Documentary Australia Foundation Documentary Organization of Canada Documentary Producers Alliance Doha Film Institute EuroDoc In-Docs Institute of Documentary Film International Documentary Association International Emerging Film Talent Association Realness Institute STEPS Sundance Institute The D-Word Women in Film International - Look for local chapters World Cinema Fund Documentary Markets and Pitch Sessions Pitching: Where, When and How Pitching/Markets Calendar Good Pitch (Dates Vary) Realscreen Summit (January, June) European Film Market (EFM) - Berlin, Germany (February) Berlinale Talents - Berlin, Germany (February and Year-Round) AIDC: Australia International Documentary Conference - Melbourne, Australia (February/March) CPH: DOX - Copenhagen, Denmark (March) Docedge - Kolkata, India (March) MIPCOM/MIPDOC - France (March, April, October and November) Doc Lab - Italy (March Call for Authors) Docubox, with Good Pitch Kenya (March Call for Entries) Hot Docs - Toronto, Canada (April) DocBarcelona - Spain (May) Rio2C - Rio de Janeiro (May) Fresh Pitch - Suzhou, China (May) Sunny Side of the Doc - La Rochelle, France (June) Sheffield Doc/Fest - Sheffield, England (June) MIP China (June) Encounters South African International Documentary Festival - Cape Town, South Africa (August) Discop - Africa (August) Docs By the Sea - Indonesia (Bi-Annual in August) Dhaka DocLab (August and September) DMZ Docs - Korea (September) Durban FilmMart - Durban, South Africa (September) CNEX China Doc Forum (CCDF) - Taipei, Taiwan (September) Doc Buenos Aires - Argentina (October) DocsMX - Mexico (October) DOK Leipzig - Germany (October/November) MIP Cancun (November) Ventura Sur - Market - Argentina (November/December) DocSP - São Paolo, Brazil (October/November) Festival Internacional de Cine Guadalajara - Mexico (November) Tokyo Docs - Tokyo, Japan (November) DOC NYC - New York, USA (November) IDFA - Netherlands (November) (ATF) Asia TV Forum and Market - Singapore (December) World Congress of Science and Factual Producers - Different Host City Every Year (December) Key Takeaways Conclusion Bibliography 4. Now Available Online - How to Stream Think Local and Global Money Matters Talking to Experts Rights Stuff The Film Collaborative Streaming Contracts Choosing to Stream, Choosing a Streamer Why They Chose Which Platform Documentarians Who Have Used Streaming: Their Best Advice Defining the Streaming Ecosystem Tier 1: The Biggies Tier 2: The Aggregators Tier 3: Curated Streamers: The Power of Theme and Place Global Curiosity Stream (SVOD) New York Times Op-Docs (FVOD) FilmDoo (AVOD) iWonder (SVOD) EngageMedia (FVOD) FanForce (FVOD and TVOD) Demand.Films (TVOD) HerFlix (FVOD and TVOD) WaterBear Network (FVOD) DocsOnline (VOD and SVOD) Regional Streaming Platforms AfriDocs (FVOD) Eurovod (Membership Organization) PBS Digital Studios (United States) Tenk (SVOD) NoK Ze Doc (SVOD) Sisterhood Media (VOD and SVOD) kweliTV (SVOD) Latin America Another Mexico-only Platform That Includes Documentaries to Stream is FilminLatino (SVOD) Retina Latina Aflamuna China Tier 4: Telecommunications Streamers Viaplay Nordics (SVOD) Crave (SVOD) Tier 5: Self-Publishing or Your Own Marketplace What to Know Before You Publish Cinemarket Rights Trade Vuulr The-Ally Vimeo (TVOD) ReelHouse (TVOD) YouTube (AVOD) Key Takeaways Conclusion Bibliography 5. Creating Community - Partnerships With Purpose Define Your Process Together What They Did An Institutional Case Study: Australian Broadcasting Corporation Their Best Advice Think Local and Global The Impact Community Money Matters Impact Producers Fourth Act Film Indian Documentary Foundation Picture Motion Project Impact Story Money Impact Together Films Working Films Impact Through Virtual Cinema Outreach After Completion Key Takeaways Conclusion Bibliography 6. Educational Facilities and Academic Professional Development An Introduction into the Educational Community Price Length Flexible Delivery Follow their Calendar Fit into an Academic Setting What They Did Their Best Advice Think Local and Global Money Matters Preparation Virtual Screenings Indee.tv OVEE Vimeo Considerations for Educational Programming Academic Conferences American Library Association - Annual national convention in June American Economic Association - January National Association of African American Studies - February Association for Asian American Studies - April Association of College and Research Librarians - April, Every Two Years International Studies Association - April Society for Disability Studies - April Latin American Studies Association - May Popular Culture Association (National and Regional) - June National Association of Social Workers - June Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences - July American Political Science Association - September/October Video Trust (Mostly Online) - October Middle East Studies Association - October National Women's Studies Association - November Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) - November Educational Distributors Alexander Street Press (Part of Multinational ProQuest Database Services) Bullfrog Films California Newsreel Collective Eye Films Documentary Educational Resources Films Media Group Film Ideas First Run Features Icarus Films McIntyre Media Media Education Foundation New Day Films Passion River Films Roco Films Video Project Women Make Movies Streaming services for educators Docuseek2 Film Platform Kanopy OVID.tv Key Takeaways Conclusion 7. Public Broadcasters and the Specialty TV Ecosystem Why Public Broadcasters Buy What They Did The United States Experience Preparing to Pitch Co-productions Money Matters Telefilm Canada The Waterfall Important Licensing Terms: Getting Ready to Air Deliverables for Submitting to Broadcasters Think Local and Global Television Networks Africa Magic (MNET) Al Jazeera Media Network ARTE (France) Australian Broadcasting Corporation British Broadcasting Corporation - BBC (United Kingdom) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC (Canada) Canal 22 (Mexico) China Central Television - CCTV (China) Deutsche Welle - DW (Germany) Euronews Globo (Brazil) NHK (Japan) South Africa Broadcasting Corporation - SABC (South Africa) Special Broadcasting Service - SBS (Australia) SVT (Sweden) Television America Latina (RedTAL.tv) TRT (Turkey) TVO (Canada) ZDF (Germany) Public Television in the United States Routes to USA PBS American Public Television (APT) Black Public Media ITVS National Educational Telecommunications Association National Multicultural Alliance Pacific Islanders in Communications Public Broadcasting System (PBS) POV WGBH World Channel What Your Broadcast Means Working With Distributors Television Distributors Autentic (Germany) Autlook Films (Austria) Dogwoof (United Kingdom) CNEX Chinese Doc Forum (China) Deckert Distribution (Germany) Eccho Rights (multiple locations) Espresso Films (United Kingdom) First Hand Films (Switzerland) Flame Media (Multiple Locations) Looking Glass Media (Multiple Locations) Orange Smarty (United Kingdom) Sideways Films (Spain) Terranoa (France) TVF International (United Kingdom) Key Takeaways Conclusion Glossary Acknowledgments Index