March 15, 2008
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF INDIE FILM MARKETING session on 4/5 is filled. Additional session added on:
Saturday, 4/26, at 1 pm. Milwaukie area.
RSVP: lyla@foggiapr.com or call (503) 622-0232
The statistics are daunting. Each year, an estimated 3000 new independent feature films enter the marketplace in search of a distributor. In 2007, only 530 of them made it into theaters. Even so, a mere 82 found their Holy Grail – a theatrical distribution deal with one of the major players: Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Goldwyn, Lionsgate, Miramax, Paramount Vantage, Picturehouse, Sony Pictures Classics, ThinkFilm, The Weinstein Co., Warner Independent, or the Yari Film Group.
Like everything else, films must be marketed – especially those without “names” – so that industry buyers can fully assess their box office potential. As veteran filmmakers know, there can be nothing haphazard in your approach to landing a distributor – especially one that pays an advance, provides the P&A, and has the muscle to get your masterpiece booked onto the nation’s best art house and commercial screens.
This seminar will take you through the steps of positioning your film to maximize its chances of getting accepted by top festivals, represented by a leading sales agent, and ultimately considered for theatrical acquisition by the majors and other buyers.
Topics to be covered…
• An overview of the marketing tools that tell distributors and festival programmers how to perceive your film: publicity, still photography, media kit, key art, trailer, website
• Budgeting for marketing: when, how and what it will cost
• What needs to happen during production: the role of the unit publicist/still photographer, drafting/distributing the start-of-production press release, getting listed in the trades, generating press coverage, preparing the media kit
• Expert tips on creating your marketing tools: the key art, trailer, website
• Standing out from the crowd at film festivals: mounting a PR campaign, filling screenings, etc.
PRESENTER: Lyla Foggia. During a decade spent in the industry in Los Angeles, Lyla Foggia served on the core marketing teams for over 75 major motion pictures – many of them blockbusters and Oscar winners. Among other executive positions, she served as a vice president of publicity for TriStar Pictures, and spent three years as a unit publicist on such films as “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial,” “WarGames,” and “Splash.” Since 1999, she has consulted for numerous independent filmmakers. For more information, visit www.foggiapr.com