Bursting the BUBBLE

A great post, that raises some very big issues for film lovers, filmmakers, and exhibitors! I've got very mixed feelings about this myself. As someone trying to launch a new film festival in Toronto (with Todd no less) I've been coming across this issue more and more. The question I'm facing is this: HOW THE HELL can anyone pay the bills anymore and be involved with theatrical screening of independent film?

We're going to be specializing in cool international horror, sci-fi, fantasy and action cinema. BUT GUESS WHAT, bootleggers are selling these same types of films on the streets of Toronto, on DVD, months before they officially get here, if at all.

We're going to have to go after the VERY latest and greatest to have any chance of filling our theatre. We love watching these films on the Big Screen, so we're going for it. But the trend towards simultaneous media distribution -with many distributors now even reluctant to rent their titles to festivals for fear of loss of ticket sales - is going to make us work extra hard to land the films we want!

Luckily for film fans, Todd and I are up for the challenge (isn't that right Bro'?!)

- Adam

Day and date releasing is nothing new. Take a look at all the major bittorrent sites, a movie lover can get nearly anything they want. I remember seeing Factotum online a month before it played at Sundance.

I live in Japan, and contend with a staggered/delayed release schedule, high ticket prices, and a serious lack of selection..

The point is, I'm a pretty good cook. But I still love going out for dinner. If theater owners want to make more money, they should focus on improving the experience, not securing exclusive content.

They're in the service/hospitality industry, fucking act like it. Kill the commercials, no newborns after a reasonable hour, calibrate the sound system once in a while, and clean the goddamn floor.

The concept of getting a festival off the ground in the face of new(ish) media reinforces how much things are changing.

I understand your pain (in a way), Adam - as an example, I've wanted to make the trip up north for Fantasia each year for the last several years and have never been able to organize myself adequately - but, when their schedule is announced, I often already have a good portion of those titles on (legit) DVD, and know where to get scads more as boots. The same holds true for a lot of other events specializing in international cinema.

It seems like you to have either a) be way ahead of the curve on your selections or b) rely on the theater-going experience to be something special. I'm personally more apt to get off my butt at the promise of seeing, let's say, OLD BOY in a bigger-than-life environment than I would be most domestic releases, and the sort of fan base I'm sure you're looking to speak to up front feels the same way.

To successfully grow your festival will make for a tough challenge, but you've put smart people in your corner and I anticipate very good things!

We're trying to stay ahead of the curve, and I'm hpeful of some very good things, but it's tough man ... the only way to really beat international DVD releases is to get stuff just as it wraps production. I have lines on a few things that fit that category and now it's a matter of convincing the producers to go with a start up rather than one of the more established festivals in the area ... having the world's second largest festival in the same town the month before us means we're probably not going to get very many commitments until the last minute but the feedback so far has been solid and I'm hitting some regions that tend to be overlooked at other fests ... we'll be good ...

Being part of te NY Asian Film Festival this is something that we have had to deal with continuously - there are so many challanges to putting together a film festival that doesn't lose money its amazing that people still do it unless you have some major backers like Tribecca did when they got going a few years ago. Staying ahead of the curve is nearly impossible these days unless you are one of the biggies like Cannes, NY Film Festival where distributors will hold off showing their film anywhere else beforehand. But for guys like us its impossible with HK films on DVD a month after release, Korean films 3 months after release, Thai films about the same, Japanese are much better which is partly why our focus has moved there since so much of their DVD stuff comes out without subs. One of the issues is you have to lock down a lot of your films months in advance or they will be booked elsewhere in your time slot - but by doing so they risk being "old" by the time you show them.

But the good news is that the vast majority of film goers are not like us who stay on top of this stuff like an obsession. To most of these people these films are all new and basically unknown - so its them that you have to market to - and hope that a lot of people who already know these films will still want the once in a lifetime opportunity to see it on the big screen - but its tough. Good luck.

who wants to share a theatre with a bunch of retards? but then again this is a soderbergh film and i don't think there will be many retards there to begin with! but on the subject of dvd releases coinciding with theatre releases...YES! watching a movie with your close friends or alone in the comfort of your home where you can watch it as loud as you want, rewind, pause...re-watch as many times as you want. however there are the traditionalist who speak of the silver screen being a magical experience and birth and death sharing a room with strangers is a metaphor for sex/conception and blah blah blah...i agree. there is something magical about watching a film in a theatre but so many of those experiences are ruined by inconsiderate people and children who don't appreciate the art form that is film.

stfu and watch the freakin movie! don't ask your parents every time the shot changes "where is sky captain?" and don't yell out at the end of jurasic park "look at them teridactyls!" yes, i've heard these things verbatim at the movies!

Thanks for all the feedback and support, especially to you Collin and Brian. We are going to be - needless to say - an 18+ only film festival. That way A) we don't need to apply for ratings board approval for any of the films and can play them uncut, and B) you are guaranteed no screaming/wimpering kids in the audience! YAY!

I still feel that despite the 'perfect storm' brewing around theatrical exibitors of: hi-speed bootleg file sharing, affordable and luxurious home theatres, street-sold bootlegs and multiplexes giving cinema-going a bad name, there is as Brian puts it still hope. There is a paying audience willing to come out and see cutting-edge international genre films in a theatrical environment. These days you can find these people mostly at second-run/arthouse screenings and also at film festivals, which tend to attract a much more discerning, film appreciating and considerate audience. I've been going to film festivals for ten years now, in the UK, Canada and the US. It is absolutely my kinda heaven (I try to avoid watching genre films for the first time on the small screen - it's gotta be on the big screen for me, with an audience!).

For me, there is nothing to compare to the experience of watching an undiscovered film gem surrounded by other adult film goers out for the same kick. The people you meet and friends you make in the line-up often are so friendly too, as they know you all share the passion for cinema. If you haven't been to a film festival like Fantasia, I totally recommend it: it will change your perception of the big screen experience entirely. Better still come to Toronto, this October to the After Dark Film Festival. Stay over a long weekend (Oct 19-22) and catch nine amazing features and over a dozen stunning shorts that Todd and the rest of the programming team have snagged for your Big Screen delight!

Here's why I remain optimistic: film festivals once they get through their rough birth phase (usually three years) see a steady uptick in their audiences. Word of mouth and that need to return to that wonderful shared film experience often do the trick. Fantasia's audience goes up 15% a year, and similarly Toronto International's grows all the time. There are theatrical cinema appreciators out there.. I'm one of them, we just watch films in fits and spurts at festivals these days (or at home when we can't get our 'fix').

Here's hoping Todd and I can thrill you all in Toronto this October, so you come back for more next year and bring your friends!

- Adam, Festival Director,
After Dark Film Festival

E-Mail:
adam.lopez@gmail.com to get involved or join the mailing list.

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