December 8, 2021
Tomorrow is the Sundance line-up announcement (Dec 9, 2021). This is always big news in US indie land, but this year it feels positively monumental. Because for a lucky few, we’ll get to actually gather there again in person and see what’s happening in indie film land for 2022. Sure, many in the industry made it to Cannes and Telluride this year, but for many US based people I know – Sundance is their first big excursion. And for those few of us who overlap into brands funding films, it also brings back Brand Storytelling, which takes place just up the hill from the Dance in Deer Valley at the same time.
It’s also a big deal because over the past 3-5 years, Sundance has become the only film fest in North America that matters to buyers of US indie films. People will quibble with me about this, but it’s true. Just a few years ago, you could launch a film at SXSW, Tribeca or later in the year at Toronto and position it well for buyers. But that changed, just a year or so prior to coronavirus, and Sundance became not just Queen of them all, but really the only one for acquisitions. This has become a problem for every single film that is not accepted into Sundance, and its one the entire industry is dealing with in some way. It’s also not the fault of those who run Sundance – complain about the market nature of the fest all you want (or whatever other facet), but they never told the buyers that they were all that mattered.
Note here before you email me your complaints that I am not saying Sundance is the only US fest that matters to film. I’m saying to film buyers. You can still launch a film to the world not just at the mini-majors like SXSW and Tribeca, but even at great doc fests like Full Frame or Camden, or smaller regionals like Big Sky, Sarasota, or “niche” fests (such a bad word, but…) like Blackstar, or San Francisco Jewish Film Fest, or pick whatever name you like here (I am not leaving anyone out on purpose). They can help you build buzz, get press, find an audience, show your film to audiences who wouldn’t see your film on the big screen otherwise, etc., etc. Contrary to what some seem to think, I actually like the smallest of these fests best, and they’re my favorite to attend. But I am not an acquisitions executive for the only place/s that matter anymore.
In fact, as I’ve been talking about with clients, and I’ve heard from a gazillion others behind the scenes, it’s becoming the case that if you don’t get into Sundance – and you don’t think you’ll get into one of the world market fests like Berlin or Cannes (or 5-10 others), or a niche sales fest like Fantastic Fest, then you might be better off making the sale behind the scenes and using your fest premiere for what it rightfully should be anyways – it’s premiere to the press and public.
Yes, some sales agents and other smart folks will disagree with me on this and show some examples of others who took a different route, but those are the exceptions. And I can connect you to many filmmakers who, probably off the record, will tell you about the sales limbo they’ve been in post (insert fest name here) for the past year or two (covid didn’t help). Yes, there are a handful of films that play the circuit a bit and then get picked up, but this has become quite the rarity. And yes, there are many buyers who sit out the Dance altogether because the prices get too high, but I’m also talking here about the major buyers (not that the smallest of them don’t matter, especially for smaller films).
I’ve spoken with some of the actual buyers at the biggest only buyers, and a few have even told me off the record that they have to “sell” their picks internally to their bosses, and they just can’t get the same traction for a film if it premieres stateside anywhere else. It just puts a stamp of approval on a film that few other places can provide. Especially for those bigger purchases and eventual launches.
No one says any of this out loud, so I guess it’s left to me. But it’s a problem for most of us, and we might as well face it. And for those of you who have films that recently received a rejection, this is the last thing you probably wanted to hear. But what I am not saying is that this is the end of possibilities for your film (and I also wrote about this two weeks ago), or any US film not accepted into the Dance. I am saying that it's the conundrum we face, and if we acknowledge this reality, we can start to build other possibilities. And that’s what we need to do – start to build other mechanisms to bring films to the (sales) market without relying on festivals to do it for us. I’ve got some ideas on how to do this, but those will remain trade secrets for now (or until the next newsletter…), and I’d love to hear about other ideas.
In the meantime, I’ll go back to being excited about reading the line-up, and preparing for another trek out to Park City. I can’t wait to see some good films, good friends, and to meet new folks. I hope we can all avoid new variants, and I’ll hope that it’s a kick-off to a more normalized year for all of us in this “business” of film.
|
|
Film
How NFT's will Kill Netflix: I hate this title, but this one's been making the rounds - Doug Rushkoff begins his argument stating that NFt's will allow for a new era of fans buying direct from artists, allowing us to ditch our subscriptions from the overlords. But his real argument, and the reason I hate the misleading click-bait title, is that this disaggregation will of course lead to re-aggregation as folks join back up into groups of artists (like Substack writers are doing now), and then these aggregators will become powerful enough to become the new gatekeepers, etc. This last part has been the way of the web - in film, think about the rise and fall of VHX as just one example - and is bound to happen again and again. Worth a read. (BN)
WTF R NFT's in Film, Anyways? Whenever something new comes around in the media arts, I have a saying - never fear, Lance is here. Or, really, never fear, Lance has already been here. That's Lance as in Lace Weiler, filmmaker, artist, founder of Columbia's Digital Storytelling Lab, and digital pioneer, and now NFT artist and experimenter. He's also a frequent contributor to Filmmaker Magazine, where he has written a great primer on how artists are working with NFT's, especially filmmakers, and what makes it exciting. It's also a good intro to how to get started in this space, and it even comes with a companion piece that walks you through the basics of setting up a wallet and getting into this world. You may not want to go there, but you should at minimum know what's happening there, and this is a great place to start. (BN)
How Streaming Giants are Changing Documentary Film: Screen International's John Hazelton takes a look at the phenomenon of CNN, NatGeo/Disney, HBO Max and Discovery taking over the doc world, and (to some extent) what that means for smaller indie and arthouse docs. It's a good analysis of what's taking place, but not as much about what it means for the future (I've already told you what that means in other articles, like this one). (BN)
|
|
Branded Content
Get Brand Storytelling Certified: I'm super excited to be able to talk about this, finally. Brand Storytelling and Eastern Tennessee State University are launching the first of its kind, industry-recognized certificate program in Brand Storytelling, and I am one of the instructors. The Brand Storytelling Certification covers an industry talent gap and will appeal to professionals looking to increase opportunities in marketing, brand, film, content creation, and journalism. The program will span four weeks featuring some of today’s most influential names and brands in brand storytelling as guest lecturers. And there's a brand sponsored RFP as part of the course, to deliver experiential learning – unique in the certificate space.
This was put together by Rick Parkhill of Brand Storytelling, Stephen Marshall of ETSU, and the other instructors are awesome: Dawn Reese of UM Studios; Marcus Peterzell of Passion Point Collective and Marc Battaglia of Story + Strategy (and formerly of Marriott). We've also got some great sponsors, who are helping with scholarships to increase diversity in the sector (Body Armor, Discovery, Intel, Southwest Airlines, Twitter, UM and Univision).
Ok, I am clearly biased, but I get an email or call every week from someone trying to break into this space, either from the brand side, or the filmmaking side, and this class will help people figure out how to do that, and how to do it (brand funded filmmaking) right. Check out the course website for more info. (BN)
 John Oliver remembers snack companies' weird '90s video games: Branded content used to be so much more creative when it came to snacks, argues John Oliver in a recent piece. And he’s not wrong. Today, snack brands are basically just memeing, whether that be on Twitter or elsewhere. But back in the 90s it was a different game altogether — literally. Remember Pepsiman? How about 7UP’s Cool Spot, Cheetos’ Chester Cheetah, or Chex’s Chex Quest? If these don’t ring a bell there’s a chance your mid-late 80’s/90’s-born kid does, because these were all characters from video games created by snack brands, often packaged alongside the snack. Who knows… maybe the memeing is reaching younger audiences and is really paying off (i.e. memes viewed are being converted into purchases). Still, the videogames were cooler. Amanda Yeo for Mashable has the story, and you can find Oliver’s sketch there too. (GSH)
|
|
Miscellany:
Gaming Is Becoming Accessible, But We Need To Keep Asking For More: While around 15% of people in the world live with a disability or chronic illness, 30% of US gamers and 20% of UK gamers identify as disabled. Customizable gaming experiences made possible through a myriad of technologies such as the QuadStick (a mouth operated controller) or the 3D Rudder (a foot operated controller) have made gaming more accessible for many. Though these tools come at a (literal) cost. They’re extremely expensive and don’t guarantee seamless play for many users with physical disabilities. Drawing from interviews with players who are physically impaired, Jennifer Mulrow, contributor for Good Game writes an important piece about the barriers that people with disabilities face in gaming, from the physical/technical to the social. One of her interviewees concludes, “If an inclusive game with equal representation that is accessible to the vast majority of people is what most people want, that is the game we are going to get. But we need to ask for it, and not just those who are affected by it.” (GSH)
The first metaverse experiments? Look to what’s already happening in medicine: Bob Woods, writer for CNBC succinctly defines the metaverse as the “domain where animated avatars of our physical selves will be able to virtually do all sorts of interactivities, from shopping to gaming to traveling — someday.” But today, the health-care industry is already harnessing the key building blocks of the metaverse — VR, AR, AI, and Mixed Reality tech — to shape medical practice. Take UConn Health for instance: “Donning Oculus Quest headsets, the residents can visualize in 3-D performing a range of surgical procedures, such as putting a pin in a broken bone.” Microsoft, too, is taking part in the construction of the medical metaverse: Various devices including VR headsets and the HoloLens 2 will allow “avatars of medical students [to theoretically learn] about human anatomy, gathered around a holographic model and peeling back muscles to see what’s underneath.” Check out Woods’ piece for more on the application of these tools in medical education and practice. My takeaway: It’s important that we develop the tools to educate and equip medical personnel to improve patient experience and health outcomes. I just hope (perhaps naively) that this money and tech is used to improve the health and quality of life of our most vulnerable patients (i.e. patients with low English proficiency/literacy or patients with other physical/mental/ socially determined barriers of access) rather than create wider disparities in quality of care and health outcomes. (GSH)
(GSH) = Articles written by Sub-Genre's Gabriel Schillinger-Hyman, not Brian Newman (BN)
|
|
|
Like This Newsletter? Subscribe & Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
