"How do you market art?" asked DGA Independent Directors Committee member Gary Walkow at the American Film Marketing Association's (AFMA) recent DGA annual mixer. "The definition of a commercial film is to satisfy an audience. For many filmmakers, the artistic impulse is not so quantifiable. It's a very tough intersection and one independents struggle with daily."

Titled "Averting Future Shock: The Realities of Independent Film Financing, Marketing and Distribution," the event combined case studies of two films' attempts to secure distribution and break-out sessions with advisors from AFMA companies. The two case studies: Jon Scheide's The Rose Technique and Jordan Brady's American Girl.

The panel included moderator Rob Aft, former President of International Distribution at The Kushner-Locke Company; Joe Dickstein, Vice President of Acquisitions at Mainline Releasing; Brenda Doby, a former Vice President and manager of Sterling Bank; Michael Ryan, Board Member of IAC Film & TV; Aaron Ryder, Head of Production and Development for Newmarket Films; Meyer Schwarzstein, President of Brainstorm Media; Alison Thompson, Head of Sales at Pathe International UK; Nicole Mackey, President of International Sales at Signpost Films; Robert Hayward, COO of Summit Entertainment; Myles Nestel, Head of Business Affairs for Cobalt Media Group; Bic Tran, Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-productions for Lakeshore Entertainment; and Peter Wetherall, an indie consultant and six-term Board Member of AFMA.

Director Jon Scheide said, "To come in and hear the panelists say the straight-to-video market is dead, or that waiting too long for a small theatrical release can impinge your ability to sell, is something we as filmmakers need to know when we're drawing up game plans."

After seeing excerpts from Jordan Brady's dark comedy, American Girl, the panel offered the director point-blank advice. "This film was completed in January and should have already been sold to a few territories," Michael Ryan said. "It needs a champion. And you have to get in there and push the producers to get it moving, because no one else will."

After the case studies, directors participated in breakout groups with the panelists and other members of the AFMA Industry Relations Committee.

Self-reliance, in areas like equity financing, casting and foreign sales, can be overrated for independents, as the three breakout sessions detailed. "I would argue that filmmakers should get all the pragmatic input from people like us that they can handle during the creative process," Peter Wetherall said in one session. "We see many films after they are done, and if only we had had a chance to see them before they were finished, the filmmakers would have had a much better shot in the marketplace."