Creative Distribution 101

This interview was recorded in July 2022 and dives into the entire film ecosystem. Carlos serves on the board of directors of Film Forum and is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Cinema Tropical, a New York-based non-profit and media arts organization that has become the leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the United States, founded in 2001 with the mission of distributing, programming and promoting what was to become the biggest boom of Latin American cinema in decades. Carlos is also one of the co-founding members of the coalition in formation Distribution Advocates. 

Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema, a social cinema platform connecting films to in-person and virtual audiences. Before Kinema, Christie founded the award-winning impact agency Picture Motion in 2012, developing grassroots marketing and social action campaigns for films such as Free Solo, 13th, Fed Up, and many more. This episode dives into what filmmakers can expect from working with the Kinema platform, and what role this new company plays in the indie film ecosystem.

Jonathan Miller runs the new subscription video-on-demand service called OVID.tv. which is a collaborative effort between several documentary distributors. Jonathan is also president of the distributor Icarus Films. OVID.tv aims to provide North American viewers with access to documentaries, independent films, and notable works of international cinema, that may be unavailable on other platforms, streaming a library of over 1600 titles. The content partners behind OVID are a group of established distribution companies. OVID was founded with a commitment to openness and transparency regarding their data.    

In this episode, we are exploring more radical paths for indie distribution with Karin Chien, an award-winning producer and distributor. She is the founder and president of dGenerate Films, the leading distributor of independent, contemporary Chinese cinema. She is also one of the co-founding members of the "coalition in formation" called Distribution Advocates.

Two young filmmakers Sarah Kambe Holland and Mollie Mulvey share tips and insights from their successful TikTok experiences for their films Egghead & Twinkie and The Better Part. Learn how to leverage TikTok to build your audience.

Naomi McDougall Jones was a guest on this podcast before talking about her second feature film called Bite Me, which developed into the Joyful Vampire Tour of America, an innovative 51-screening, 40-city, three-month tour in an RV. Naomi has since teamed up with the former CFO of the City of Chicago to found The 51 Fund, an investment fund to finance films written, directed, and produced by women. Through it, Naomi became an Executive Producer of the acclaimed documentary feature film, Cusp, which premiered at Sundance in 2021. She was also a writer for season 1 of Amazon's original series, The New Yorker Presents. In this episode Naomi dives into everything she's learned about the film ecosystem, starting with her DIY iTunes strategy.  

Michaela Bethune is Vice President of Audience Development for Participant, which is a global media company dedicated to entertainment that engages audiences to participate in social change. Previously, Michaela was Head of Campaigns for DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change, and she led California's digital strategy and voter mobilization programs for Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign. Today, Michaela leads impact campaign strategy for Participant. Participant's more than 100 films include academy award winners Spotlight,  "American Factory", "CITIZENFOUR", "The Cove" and "An Inconvenient Truth", and recently the award-winning film "Judas and the Black Messiah" which we will talk about today.

Ani Mercedes who is C.E.O., Founder and Impact Producer of Looky Looky Pictures, an impact production company that connects the power of films with the power of people. They work with stories that go beyond empathy; that aim to participate in the transformational work of building solidarity with (rather than for) the communities they aim to serve. Ani and her team have implemented and advised on impact production for over 800 filmmakers including the films Through the Night, Councilwoman, Building the American Dream, and LIYANA.

An indie horror movie case study with the acclaimed director of "Ruin Me", Preston DeFrancis.

Christina Raia is an award-winning Writer/Director. In this episode, she dives into an intriguing distribution case study and the film ecosystem. She is the Founder of CongestedCat Productions and was also head of education at crowdfunding & distribution platform Seed & Spark. Her work, consisting of over a dozen short films, a web series, and two feature films, has screened at film festivals around the world.