What to know
- Independent films don’t always get picked up during TIFF, with distributor Robin Smith saying deals can happen two to four weeks after the festival as buyers assess audiences, competition, and financial risks.
- Even without a deal, screening at TIFF can give an independent film credibility, help it get into other festivals and put it on the radar of potential buyers and partners.
- Smith said filmmakers should follow up with distributors, send screeners, study audience reactions and continue promoting their films through festivals, leads and sponsorships — potentially for a year or longer.
- Industry consolidation, fewer Canadian outlets and competition from studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms have made distribution more challenging. Smith says filmmakers should identify their core audience rather than assume their film will appeal to everyone.
Following TIFF, some of the hundreds of films screening at the festival may enter a limbo stage. However, for independent filmmakers, not getting a distribution deal doesn’t necessarily mean their film’s journey is over.
While some of the more high-profile films can secure distributors within the first few days of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Robin Smith, director of programming for the Whistler Film Festival and president of independent Canadian film distributor KinoSmith, and other distribution companies, told Now Toronto that smaller, independent films might require more time to find the right fit.
“I think everyone wants to be in that top tier of acquisitions to get sort of bought out within the first couple of days of screening,” Smith said. “To be frank, that rarely happens with the independent films unless there’s a huge groundswell of both press and audience reaction to the movie.”
According to Smith, distributors have to consider more than whether they like a film. They also have to determine how it fits into their existing slate, who the potential audience could be, and what opportunities would exist in the marketplace.
Smith said for some filmmakers, a deal could happen well after TIFF, reassuring that silence doesn’t mean their film was passed over.
“To me, where I do see a lot of deals… happen about two or three weeks, four weeks after the festival,” Smith said.
He added that the extra time can give distributors time to assess the competitive landscape behind a film, and who else might be interested. All before they need to figure out what kind of deal they are able to offer without putting their own company at risk.
Smith said the number of films competing for attention has also made the process more difficult.
“There’s also a good and a bad problem that [there are] more films than there’s ever been before,” he said. “So, weeding through all the films is difficult.”
Once a pipedream of a 24-hour turnaround has changed over time. Smith added that being picked up by a distributor in a short amount of time happens less frequently because buyers have more options and face more uncertainty in the marketplace.
“I think the days [when] deals were done within 24 hours still exist, but I don’t think it happens as often as it used to,” he said.
A TIFF premiere can still open doors
According to Smith, filmmakers who leave TIFF without a sale should be discouraged, as the festival itself can become a valuable part of their film’s journey.
“It’s not the end of the world to me,” he said. “Festivals… are like midwives in a sense. I mean, they’re giving birth to the film into the marketplace.”
Smith said filmmakers still have work to do after the festival. They must follow up with potential buyers and send digital screeners to people who didn’t get the opportunity to see the film in Toronto.
A film having a spot within TIFF can also help with credibility when approaching other festivals and potential partners.
“The fact that it has played in a major festival such as TIFF… is a real sort of pedigree to their film that will help open doors,” Smith said.
He also pointed to the festivals that follow TIFF as another opportunity for independent films to further build an audience.
“Your film is going to be on the radar of a multitude of other global festivals that look at TIFF as a way to go,” Smith explained.
Filmmakers shouldn’t give up
One of the biggest mistakes filmmakers can make is assuming their job is finished once their film premieres, according to Smith.
“The whole life of selling your film never happens quick,” he said. “Some filmmakers tend to check out a little bit and decide, ‘okay, it’s out there. You guys can have it,’ and they stop working it, just hoping people will discover it.”
He recommended filmmakers conduct a “postmortem” after the festival to figure out what worked, what didn’t, and which audiences responded most strongly to the film.
That audience reaction can even reveal a potential market filmmakers hadn’t initially considered.
“Figure out who your core audience is for your film, and every mechanism that you do in regard to packaging, marketing, or even publicising your film should be directed to that audience,” he said. “They’ll become your champions and help you propagate that message, and hopefully find you better success for your film.”
Smith says filmmakers may need to continue promoting their films for up to a year or more – pursuing additional festivals, following up on leads and finding sponsorships.
“I hate to say it. [Filmmakers] have to be a little bit of a salesperson,” he said.
The Canadian distribution market is changing
For Canadian filmmakers, Smith says the distribution landscape has become increasingly difficult, with less traditional distributors and places to sell films.
“The whole industry is being consolidated considerably,” he said. “…The big have gotten bigger, and the small have gotten smaller, and the middle class is disappearing.”
Smith added that there are a lot of companies doing direct deals with studios, meaning studios are now producing their own, broadcasters are producing their own product, streaming services are producing their own product.
As for Canada, Smith said the industry had fewer platforms for distribution as compared to the U.S.
“There is a glut of films in the marketplace,” Smith said. “In Canada, we just don’t have a lot of outlets to get films out to.”
Because of this, distributors may face financial risks when buying a film, because they may have to spend more money upfront without knowing if they will be able to reach enough viewers to break even.
According to Smith, the key to successful distribution is understanding who a film’s audience is, and avoiding the one-film-fits-all mindset.
“Never say that your film will appeal to everyone. That’s golden rule number one,” he said.
And despite challenges with distribution in the Canadian industry, Smith said independent filmmakers shouldn’t assume there isn’t an audience for their work.
“There are audiences out there who are hungry for all different types of stories,” he said. “It’s just a little harder to find them and consolidate them, but it can be done.”
