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Collaboration For The Win

I just spent an entire weekend collaborating with some filmmakers to get people out to a theater to see our respective films – and to join some Q&A’s, receptions, runs and more. We all did this because we are stuck in the particular hell of a rat-race called an FYC campaign, i.e. trying to get approximately 900 Academy doc branch voters to watch your film and maybe consider voting for it. And with such arcane and crazy rules about what you can and can’t say that I must say here – none of this post is trying to get anyone to vote for any film, if you happen to be a voter – this is about collaboration for bigger wins. But the collaborations I’ve been part of this past week, and coming up in Los Angeles soon (more below) remind me that not only is film a collaborative medium (usually, and if you aren’t in the Brakhage mold), but that we won’t survive without such collaborations going forward. Collaboration for the win. 

I’ll get into the specifics of my collaborations below – fair warning for a sponsored post, so to speak here – but first, my point. While it takes a village to make a movie, I’ve often been surprised and dispirited at just how competitive and un-collaborative the film community usually behaves. It’s cut-throat – and I often feel like I’m stuck in the worst part of Southern behavior (as one from the South) where we lean into the “bless your heart” mode – where we smile at one another only to back-stab one’s way to the supposed top of some pathetic heap. If we would just collaborate more, we’d get so much more done. 

How many times do you see three different movies about the same subject, and wish the filmmakers had just collaborated? How many towns have 3 or 30 film fests, when they should have one? Why do we keep doing impact campaigns for individual films, but no one shares data and audience info? Why do three different outdoor brands make a film about public land issues, when they could make one and market it together and have greater impact? (This last one has led me to quit working with a couple of clients, actually). Why do we need twenty mid-tier streamers, when we could have one good one? Why do we need dozens of fiscal sponsors, when we just need one good one? Why are multiple short doc films vying for an Oscar with separate campaigns, when they could be sharing costs? (This one leads me to this post). I could list thousands of other examples, but you get the gist of this. We need more collaboration. 

But collaboration is hard. It’s never an equal give and take, and it takes a lot of work. But when it works, the rewards can be spectacular. Luckily, I’ve been seeing a lot more of this in the film world lately. Just a few cool examples – I really like the collaborations that Seed & Spark and Kinema are doing with their Distribution Playbook, which is also using a bit of a crowd-sourced, open-source model to disseminating good info on how to distribute films. This is just one of several collaborations these companies are doing, including a new Crowdfunding Playbook they just launched. I’m also a fan of Switchboard Magazine’s recent grouping of four Academy qualified short films, building a showcase and touring them a bit together to raise awareness. I was a big fan of the Nightstream Horror Film Fest, which launched during 2020/Covid as a way for several fests to collaborate in dark times. That shifted into being its own VOD platform in 2023. Right now, several public media entities are collaborating to move forward through this administration’s cuts. Some of these efforts are behind the scenes and might announce projects soon. Others, like the Public Media Bridge Fund, are using collaboration and a lot of fundraising to try to bring over $100M to public media. In my world, several of us came together to form the Future Film Coalition, which is building a collaborative organization to try to advocate for the entire field – and eventually, it will launch new projects hoping to address multiple stakeholder’s concerns (distributors, filmmakers, exhibitors, festivals, just about everyone). 

These are just a few of the many recent collaborative efforts I’ve seen, and I think we need more. But since this is my free newsletter, I want to push a couple of our big collaborations here. At Sub-Genre, we’re helping the short film The Life We Have (synopsis below) with its impact campaign, and because the film won many awards that qualified it for the Oscar for Best Short Documentary, we’re holding a small FYC screening campaign. This particular movie was funded and executive produced by our client, REI Co-Op Studios, and it also has a grant from a private individual to support its impact campaign. But even so, an FYC campaign has gotten to be a nearly impossible task. 

Luckily, our main focus with this film is not an award, but to have an impact. The Life We Have is about Rob Shaver, who was diagnosed with stage four cancer 20 years ago, and he made a pact to run every day until he dies. The Life We Have is a quiet reflection on mortality, resilience, and the choice to live with beautiful effort. And we are using the film to collect letters to Rob, and soon, we’ll be partnering with run clubs and cancer organizations across the US to raise awareness of using running/exercise to get through trauma, and to raise money for cancer support organizations. What the filmmaker’s have been finding is that when people see the film, and hear Rob’s story, it changes their lives. Many people have decided to take up running when they see Rob’s love of running, even with his challenges. 

So, when I found out that another running related film would be holding screenings in NYC, I quickly reached out to Jess Epstein, the producer, and Paige Bethmann, the director/producer of Remaining Native to ask about collaborating, and they were game. Remaining Native is a documentary told from the perspective of Ku Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggling to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great-grandfather's escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future. It’s a beautiful feature film, and I’d already seen it a few times, and participated in a run they held in conjunction with its NYC premiere at the Margaret Meade Film Fest (with the Upper West Side Run Club). So, this past weekend, we co-hosted a series of events: two joint screenings with combined Q&A’s at DCTV, a run with Define Run Club, and a reception before one of the screenings. The events were great, and we got bigger audiences, more attention and buzz, than we could have done on our own. Both of us saved costs, too, and both of us got more people to think about the healing power of running. Remaining Native continues to play today (Nov 26) and tomorrow (Nov 27^th) at DCTV, and you can find other screenings here. I highly recommend you catch the film on a big screen, preferably one with a combined run.

With that success, we decided to do this again in Los Angeles, but now we’re partnering with two films for three screenings in Los Angeles. First, we found out that Facing War, a great new film from  director Tommy Gulliksen, was looking to do an LA premiere, with help from our friends at Think-Film Impact Production. Facing War  follows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he navigates Russia’s war in Ukraine, and as he tries to rally member nations behind him, and keep his promises to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Not a running film. But here, the connection comes through sport – as Stoltenberg is a cyclist, who uses cycling to get through the tortures of diplomacy (my phrasing not theirs). For us, the connection is “two Incredible individuals who put life first with sport as the vector to do good work.” And of course, it’s really about filmmakers collaborating to break through the noise, and try to get their good works seen.

Rob Shaver is also a singer, with a beautiful voice, and the healing nature of song, and how it can bring community together is a piece of this film. The Life We Have also had a premiere at MountainFilm Telluride,and we quickly partnered with another short film that premiered there – Tessitura, by Lydia Cornett and Brit Fryer. Tessitura explores the entangled ways that voice, character, and gender are continuously reformulated in opera by those who contend with these connections daily. Through the voices of singers Breanna Sinclairé, Lucas Bouk, Katherine Goforth, and musicologist Dr. Naomi André, contemporary narratives weave between opera’s historical conventions around gender, illuminating the traditions and transformations shaping the field today

We’ll be showcasing all three films in LA December 6^th and 7^th, and we’re also hosting a run for The Life We Have alongside REI Burbank, and the Boyle Heights Bridge Runners, and to support Cancer Support Community Los Angeles. Details on all of these free events follows below. While I hope many of you can get a chance to see these films, I also hope this bit of a pitch post inspires you to consider the power of collaboration, and the ways that collaboration among artists can help all of us to raise above the noise, and get attention for our art in this crowded marketplace we call the attention economy. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Go see some films, in a movie theater, whether they’re mine, someone else’s, up for an award, or not.

IndieChina, NYC Film Fest Shut Down After Harassment Concerns: Zhu Rikun was ready  to welcome filmmakers and directors from China to New York City for the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival, when, just two days before its start, he began receiving calls from his father and participating directors and filmmakers to cancel the event. Most of the participants stated they wished to withdraw without giving concrete reasons, while others said that they had been told to do so by authorities. “I hope this announcement of the cancellation of IndieChina Film Festival will make certain unknown forces stop harassing all the directors, guests, former staff, volunteers and my friends and family,” Zhu said in a statement. Note that Zhu is a veteran curator of indie films. Prior to his move to NYC, Zhu had worked on indie film fests in China for almost two decades and co-founded the Beijing Independent Film Festival. President Xi Jinping took control in 2012 and “eventually, all of my film festivals were banned, none of them could continue (Zhu).” And now, “the Chinese government reached around the globe to shut down a film festival in New York City,” Yalkun Uluyol, researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “This latest act of transnational repression demonstrates the Chinese government’s aim to control what the world sees and learns about China.” Nicole Acevedo at NBC has the news. (GSH)

Alan Berliner Film Premieres End Of Month At DCTV’s Cinema For Documentary Film: BENITA is acclaimed filmmaker Alan Berliner's intimate portrait of his friend, another filmmaker, Benita Raphan, who took her life in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Benita made several beautiful short films over the years – including portraits of Emily Dickinson, John Nash and Buckminster Fuller – exploring the relationship between mental health, innovation and creativity. BENITA will have a week-long theatrical release at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4 in New York City (that means it starts this weekend!). Also of note, The Hamptons Doc Fest will be honoring Alan on Dec. 6 with the 2025 Pennebaker Career Achievement Award. Learn more about BENITA at this link, watch the trailer here, and catch it in NYC the week after Thanksgiving! (GSH) I watched BENITA this past week, and as expected, Berliner has done an amazing job. I can’t recommend this film enough - see it on the big screen. It’s an amazing tribute to an artist and friend, and a masterful artwork at the same time. I plan to watch it again. (BN)

Hollywood’s Rush To Shrink Theatrical Windows Created The Blockbuster Crisis: ‘One Battle After Another,’ the most critically lauded film of 2025 starring one of the world’s biggest movie stars (Leonardo DiCaprio) is projected to lose Warner Bros. around $100m. Mark Ritson for The Drum makes the case that this is not an exception, it’s becoming the new rule. He writes, “Despite initial appearances, the decline in movie attendance is not a natural disaster, but rather a murder mystery. And the smoking gun is being held by the very people who historically benefited most from a healthy cinema industry: the movie studios.” What the studios failed to grasp, he explains, is that “the theatrical window was not just about exclusivity. It was about… creating a cultural trajectory that generated word-of-mouth, critical discourse and that sense that you needed to see this film now because everyone would be talking about it tomorrow. When you compress that window to three weeks, you obliterate anticipation.” Read on at The Drum. (GSH)

“Deep Fake Is the Crime, AI Is a Tool”: Rafa Sales Ross writes an important piece on the ethical conundrum of the use of AI in documentary films. He quotes Emmy-winning filmmaker and graphic designer Eugen Bräunig who states that because of the widespread and seemingly uncontrolled use of AI, “trust in archives is… threatened. If people start mistrusting news, which they already are, they are also going to potentially develop that sense of mistrust towards documentary filmmaking, and rightfully so in some instances.” Give Ross’ article for Variety a read for a few examples of controversial uses of AI in doc filming in the last handful of years, and what a few filmmakers have to say about it. (GSH)

How they Made The One Battle “River of Hills” scene: As I mentioned last week, I was a big fan of One Battle After Another, and like everyone else, I was blown away by the “river of hills” sequence, which jumped to the top of best car chase scenes ever. Screen has a great article today on how they shot and edited the scene. Check it out. (BN)

Branded Entertainment

Insights from MIPCOM Cannes 2025 Part 1 — The frameworks exist and the mechanics are clear: Learn about last month’s BrandStorytelling Summit at MIPCOM 2025, where an expert group of brands, filmmakers, agencies, studios and distributors discussed the ever-shifting landscape of brand-funded entertainment. Major takeaways included: (1) “brands and their storytelling partners don’t have to invent the wheel. Those who… position the brand as commissioner/co-producer rather than just a sponsor are seeing results.” (2) In today’s branded entertainment, “the primary frame is the audience, not the brand flag, " but at the same time, “brands are no longer simply adjuncts to creative partners.” (3) Brands are looking to have international reach. Doug Scott (Founder of UNXOWN), urged agents, financiers, and creators to think “‘glocal” - global to local - from day one.” (4) Measuring the ROI of a brand film/series has always been nebulous, and how success is defined varies from brand to brand. MIPCOM participants agreed that dismantling previous notions of what measurement should look like is important. Learn more about MIPCOM2025 takeaways from Jordan Kelley here. (GSH)

Insights from MIPCOM Cannes 2025 Part 2: Our own Brian Newman moderated “Brand-Funded Entertainment: What’s the Deal? (watch panel here) with guests Mark Book, Sam Glynne, and Isidoor Roebers. The group dives right into multiple case studies (including our own projects at Sub-Genre) which ultimately illustrate that (1) there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to branded entertainment, (2) we’re seeing a trend towards brands packaging stories as series or features and placing them into global windows, and (3) if there’re two things brands can do better, it’s (a) remembering to shoot and harness ancillary content as part of a broader campaign to build momentum leading to a premiere/event and (b) trust the story and the creators of that story. “Purpose over product (Glynne)” is paramount. (GSH)

Fruit Loops Teams Up With Chicago Artists: Check out Margo Waldrop’s piece for The Drum for an example of how a brand is entrenching itself in culture and community. Long story short: Fruit Loops has always had history in HipHop (“rappers have been giving Froot Loops free press. The neon cereal has popped up in more than a thousand lyrics,” Waldrop). Fruit Loops, with their ‘Follow Your Ears’ campaign, teamed up with Chicago-based jeweler Kristopher Kites to design one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces inspired by rap lyrics referencing Fruit Loops, as well as with local Chicago artists who created Fruit Loop–themed pop-up poster art across the city. The posters were interactive (passerby can scan QR codes embedded in the art to win jewelry pieces and other prizes. Why this campaign is a win, according to Matt Zavala, chief creative officer at MSL: “People see it as tied to creativity, self-expression and community, not just breakfast.” (GSH)

Thanks To Their Cultural Literacy, Aston Martin Is On Track To Dominate Other Car Brands Online and IRL: The sports car’s has entered music, fashion and film, and they’re seeing incredible results — they’re successfully creating cultural moments, their online presence has bloomed (their total fan tally of 454 million is up 68 percent from five years ago), and almost a third of their fans are women. Here’re a few examples of moments they’ve created or been a part of that illustrate their strategy: Aside from their presence in “F1: The Movie,” Aston Martin has hosted events with Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, a merchandise pop-up in London with The Rolling Stones, and a Miami house party, headlined by Aussie DJ Dom Dolla, for 700 fans in Wynwood. They teamed up with Pixar’s Toy Story (announced early November), and have been rolling out limited-edition gear. The Aston Martin made British brand ELEMIS its first official skincare partner, they hosted a pop-up that featured an “Aston Matcha” (70% of attendees were women), and collaborated with nail polish brand Glaize for fans to pick up a nail gel matching the vivid racing green of the team’s car. Takeaways: (1) “This kind of cultural literacy outside of the sport has allowed Aston Martin to seduce fans who might otherwise have deemed F1 an out-of-reach experience (Lily Ford, Variety).” (2) The whole Aston Martin team is dialed into what’s happening. It’s not just their marketing team. It’s the racers and everyone else involved. Give Lily Ford’s article for Variety a read for more info. (GSH)

Brian Newman & Sub-Genre Media

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