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How to Navigate Film Festivals, Marketing & Distribution as a Filmmaker
Live online course
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You’ve made a film and now it’s time to find your audience. But, how do you create a festival strategy? What do you need to know about how to make a distribution deal? What marketing materials do you need to create to support a distributor or if you decide to self-distribute your film? In this four-week online course, you will learn how to find your film’s audience - from navigating film festivals to creating deliverables.
What you bring to the course:
- Some experience in filmmaking in an academic or professional setting. (You do not need to have an active project to participate.)
What you’ll get from the course:
- An understanding of the film festival landscape and the programmers’ point of view.
- Tips to maximize your experience at a festival and the value of publicists and sales agents
- Strategies to effectively publicize yourself and your work.
- An understanding of how movies are marketed and tools for marketing your film.
- An overview of the different avenues for distribution (theatrical, streaming, VOD, etc., as well as self-distribution) and what distributors are looking for.
- An understanding of the materials you will need ready for distribution (“deliverables”).
- The key points to understand in a distribution deal and what rights to try to carve out (e.g. international, non-theatrical, educational).
This course will:
- connect you with other creators via a discussion board where you can talk through core concepts and share your work.
- provide opportunities to pose questions to the instructor in an open forum. (Interaction with the instructor will take place only during class sessions.)
- not require outside class work. Suggested action steps will be provided for those with active projects.
Course enrollment is approximately 50 participants per session.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Have questions? View our FAQ section or contact us anytime at collab_courses@sundance.org.
Topics covered include:
- The film festival landscape
- Film festival myths
- What festivals are looking for from you
- What to look for in a festival
- Crafting a film festival strategy
- The materials you will need to show your film
- Tips for attending film festivals
- Working with a publicist
- Working with a sales agent
Topics covered include:
- Key marketing principles
- How movies are marketed
- When and how to start thinking about marketing
- What you need to know about creating a marketing campaign
- Defining, engaging and understanding your audience
- The importance of your film’s title
- What makes a trailer moment
- Tools for marketing your film
Topics covered include:
- The different avenues for distribution (theatrical, streaming, VOD, etc.)
- The players in each category
- What distributors are looking for
- The materials you will need ready for distribution (“deliverables”)
- Finding and collaborating with a lawyer, sales agent and distributor
- The difference between a “good” deal and a “bad” deal
- The key points in the deal like territory, term, rights, fees and deliverables
Topics covered include:
- The different avenues and platforms for self-distribution
- What to expect from each path
- How to budget your time and money
- How to effectively publicize yourself and your work
Have questions? View our FAQ section or contact us anytime at collab_courses@sundance.org.
TIFFANY BOYLE is the President of Packaging & Sales at Ramo Law PC and a partner with production company Vested Interest. She has served as an EP for films including Cannes 2022’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner Joyland, the first Pakistani film in official selection; The Card Counter, from writer/director Paul Schrader, starring Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish with EP Martin Scorsese; SXSW 2022 selection Mama Bears; Mayim Bialik’s As They Made Us, starring Dustin Hoffman, Simon Helberg, and Dianna Agron; Chick Fight, starring Malin Akerman and Bella Thorne; and Borderland starring Felicity Jones, currently in post. She also works as an adviser to foreign production companies such as Backup Media, Upper Street, and Media Fund Management. She has been a successful financial consultant on films such as Die in a Gunfight, starring Diego Boneta and Alexandra Daddario. She’s also led the sales and packaging for films including Sundance 2022 selection Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power and Berlin 2020 selection One of These Days. more...
Have questions? View our FAQ section or contact us anytime at collab_courses@sundance.org.
In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work.
- Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
- In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 45-minute one-on-one session with your advisor.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first.
We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
Some of Sundance Collab’s courses involve teaching teams. In these cases, each class is led by an Instructor and they are accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a one-on-one session with an advisor, the meeting with your advisor is scheduled according to your (and their) availability. There is also a private class discussion board where you can communicate with fellow participants outside of class hours.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within 24 hours. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
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Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.
Have other questions? We would be happy to answer them. Contact us anytime at collab_courses@sundance.org.