Distribution for Impact
We do not begrudge your desire for the world to see your film or to be paid for your work. Like others who use their talents to create positive change in society, our work is undervalued, until it can make someone else a great deal of money — and even when it does.
As you think about the paths you will take to get your film seen, it would be good to go back and review the outcomes of the prioritization exercise that the film team undertook . As you make decisions, weigh those priorities, balancing, for example, your desire to recoup costs and be able to work on your next film against the desire for impact that may have led you to make the film in the first place.
We FULLY understand that you want to reach the widest audience possible, pay back your investors, and maybe even pay your rent. (Hear hear!) Nevertheless, in this guide OUR focus is distribution for impact, which means prioritizing certain audiences and using the film as a call to action. This does NOT mean that you need to choose between a commercial distribution deal and having an impact; it DOES mean that having an impact is your priority and should guide your decision-making and negotiations.
Because of the seemingly never-ending changes in the distribution landscape — players and platforms — and the VAST differences in distribution from region to region and country to country, we encourage you to check out the distribution resources in our database for timely and regionally-relevant information.
We also hope you will share your lessons learned by submitting resources [AB3] to be added to the database.
Related resources
Manifesto for Community Film Distribution and Exhibition in Latin America
Distribution Playbook
Sunshine Cinema
Film Distribution and Impact Budget Template
