Directors seeking advice to ease their path to indie film distribution were able to receive a wealth of information on June 19 when the DGA’s Independent Directors Committee - East (IDC-E) hosted the panel discussion New Trends in Distribution of Independent Films. Held in the DGA New York’s Seventh Floor Boardroom, the event featured Directors, distributors and others who shared their insights and experiences regarding developments and opportunities in the independent film world with a focus on distribution.
Welcoming the attendees and participants, DGA National Vice President Steven Soderbergh, the founder of the IDC-E, spoke to the non-member directors attending the event about the misperception the Guild is only for filmmakers working in the studio system, and detailed some of the advantages of DGA membership for indie directors. He then introduced the panelists and moderator for the evening.
The panel consisted of Jed Alpert, co-founder and CEO of Mobile Commons, who is considered one of the foremost authorities on mobile communications strategy and is the author of the book The Mobile Marketing Revolution: How Your Brand Can Have a One-to-One Conversation with Everyone; Eamonn Bowles, President of Magnolia Pictures, a pioneer in developing alternative distribution strategies, such as the pre-theatrical VOD window, to create efficient economies for the increasingly challenging theatrical marketplace; and Film Publicist Jeff Hill, who has worked on over 500 film campaigns including those for War Horse, Incendies, The White Ribbon, Waltz with Bashir, Happy-Go-Lucky, Volver, Pan’s Labyrinth, Supersize Me, and the DGA Award-winning The Artist. IDC-E member Alex Gibney (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Lance Armstrong: The Road Back) moderated the conversation that explored what distribution models these experts have found to be successful.
After the discussion concluded, the attendees were able to converse with the panelists during a cocktail reception.
The members of the host committee for this event were: IDC-E Co-Chairs Dan Algrant and Mary Harron, and Directors Marilyn Agrelo, Brad Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Neil Burger, Raymond DeFelitta, Tom A. DiCillo, Griffin Dunne, Alex Gibney, Marc Levin, Alison MacLean, Joshua Marston, Jim McKay, Mira Nair, Nancy Savoca, Steven Soderbergh, and Rose Troche.