Like TIFF or Sundance many festivals will select a number of features ( let’s say minimum 110 films) from a total near 4,042 submissions for their festival’s lineups. Based on most festival’s history, it’s fair to say that less than 40 of those films will be acquired by established, full-service film distributors. At best, this translates to a 1% success rate for aspiring filmmakers.

Given this sobering reality, producers — members of the 99% — are embracing a post-distributor marketplace. But understanding how to navigate this alternate landscape is essential.

This means recognizing the sound of a reshuffling deck. In the old game, producers relied on key factors beyond their control: top-tier film festival invites, prestigious jury prizes, audience awards and, all too frequently, the particular tastes and needs of distribution executives.

From this new shuffle, producers will deal their own cards, managing risk and seeking out rewards that include some combination of maximum exposure, return on investment and recognition.

Of course, traditional distributors will continue to service independent films. However, I believe most producers will market and distribute their projects on their own by incorporating old and new media, within and outside the traditional marketplace. Benefits include greater control, reduced costs, increased financial rewards and transparent accounting. However, this also means assuming full responsibility from the onset and taking all measures required to achieve their objectives.

With that in mind, here’s seven key practices producers must embrace to succeed in the post-distributor marketplace.
Embrace the Role of Entrepreneur.
Understand the odds: Whether by design or default, you probably won’t have a conventional distributor. Research best practices; collaborate with other successful producers and industry professionals. Create and adhere to success plans grounded in hard numbers.

Mix Old and New Distribution.
Assume responsibility for building an integrated media platform; successful marketing and distribution plans are a mix of old and new media. While you may sidestep turnkey arrangements, you’ll still leverage traditional platforms where appropriate. Specialty theatrical releases, DVD, VOD, television broadcasts, digital streaming and downloads, whether for sale or subscription, all figure in. Like recording artists who release content through their own labels, producers can establish their own branded distribution companies. Thanks to an emerging class of service providers and content aggregators, there’s a number of distribution options that act as facilitators rather than gatekeepers and render essential delivery services (digital encoding, quality control) for relatively modest fees.

Create Key Marketing Elements, and Then Create Some More.
Constantly create content. Take an abundance of photographs and videos that capture each step of production, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes; they will be vital for marketing. Images are the connective tissue between the production and its fanbase.

Integrate Social Media.
Your project’s success depends on your ability to incorporate social media as an essential marketing platform. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are indispensable for developing an audience and generating a robust and substantive dialogue with their fans.

Forge Partnerships with Friends, Family and Fans.
Musicians have understood this for years: Success depends on establishing a personal relationship with fans. Create a network of digital hubs (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, your own websites) to share project-related content; partner with support groups that will mobilize for both fundraising and distribution. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed a slew of producers who cultivated and partnered with rabid fanbases to achieve their goals.
David Dinerstein, now president of LD Entertainment, helped manage Kevin Smith’s “Red State” marketing strategy. “Every project comes with its own brand of drama,” he says. “With entertaining and informative posts, empowered producers can create positive value even from production setbacks.” While following the production’s own dramatic narrative, audiences vest in the film’s outcome and can become a service for financial and marketing support.

Collaborate with Experts.
You will need a team of specialists to replace the people who manage publicity, marketing and distribution in the traditional model. Key is a digital marketer to design and manage unique strategies; author and industry consultant Jonathan Reiss says these individuals are important enough to deserve producer status — Producers of Marketing and Distribution, aka PMDs.

Incorporate Crowdfunding.
It’s not just production money; crowdfunding is an invaluable tool for financing marketing and distribution. It also increases audience awareness and can motivate an army of loyal supporters. 

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a powerful blueprint: Members of the 99 percent hold the power to change the course of independent film.

Indiewire.com – writing credit Steven C. Beer

Steven C. Beer is a shareholder in the international entertainment practice of Greenberg Traurig’s New York office. Steven has served as counsel to numerous award-winning writers, directors and producers, as well as industry-leading film production, film finance and film distribution companies.

Francis Ford Coppola spoke to Cameron Bailey, the director of the Toronto International Film Festival, in front of a sold-out audience at TIFF’s Bell Lightbox multiplex.

During the discussion, Coppola also took questions from audience members about working with A-list actors, his writing process, screenwriting and rumors about another Godfather movie.

Coppola and Cameron Bailey, co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival, chat about Coppola’s career during an event at this year’s festival.

When Francis Ford Coppola was a young filmmaker, he wanted to make what he calls “little art films.”

“I think many of my colleagues felt the same way, but [we were] involved in quite a dance,” he told Bailey. “You’re always doing something that will make a lot of money so that you can wake up and make the films you want to do.”

Coppola, who directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, revealed that his earliest films — like The Rain People and The Conversation — were more like what he’d hoped to do over the course of his career. But then money and life got in the way.

“I had to get a job, and of course, the job was The Godfather,” he says. “That made me be something I didn’t know I was going to be. I became a big-shot director. If you take a young Long Island Italian guy and give him endless possibilities, then you’ll see what kind of crazy things I did in the course of my career.”

Coppola’s most recent films — Tetro, Twixt and Youth Without Youth — are much like his earliest pre-Godfather movies. That’s partially because Coppola was able to finance his most recent films himself. It’s a financial arrangement familiar to the award-winning director. He also financed 1979′s Apocalypse Now — notorious for its troubled production period — after studios refused to get involved.

“It could have been because there hadn’t been a so-called war film about [the Vietnam War], and studios were very cautious,” he says. “The script for Apocalypse was considered interesting … but nobody wanted to do it, so I thought, ‘Of course, I should do it.’ ”

Coppola mortgaged his properties to finance the film, which took much longer to finish than he had anticipated.

“We were supposed to be [on set] less than a year, but we ended up being there two years,” he says. “I was pretty scared.”

And Marlon Brando, who played Kurtz in the film, was scheduled to be on set in the Philippines for just three weeks. When he showed up, his physique was not exactly what Coppola had in mind.

“He had promised me that he was going to be a little thinner,” he says. “The issue was, if he was a runaway Green Beret officer — it sounds silly, but [I was thinking] what kind of uniform should he wear? They don’t make size XXXXXL … uniforms. So … I had to dress him somehow.”

Coppola suggested cutting Brando’s hair off so that Brando would at least resemble the character Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s novel The Heart of Darkness. But Brando disagreed. For an entire week, the two men sat in a houseboat on set talking — but not filming — while Coppola struggled to figure out what to do.

“And on the Friday [of the first week Brando was on set], I walked in, and there was Brando sitting there with his head shaved, bald. And I said, ‘But Marlon, you said it wouldn’t work. You said you read Heart of Darkness and the idea for Kurtz that way wouldn’t work.’ And he said, ‘Well, I lied. I never read it. I read it last night.’ So he read it last night and came around to this image.”

Coppola decided to dress Brando in black pajamas, hoping to create the appearance of a gigantic person — instead of an overweight person — on-screen.

“That’s the way I got around the uniform issue,” he says.

Listen to a section of the In Conversation With Francis Ford Coppola provided by NPR www.npr.org

Variety – (Sept 07) A flurry of developments tied to Toronto will be unveiled this week, on the heels of the Weinstein Co.’s Tuesday announcement that it is creating a new label to bring content to digital and traditional platforms simultaneously, hiring former Magnolia execs Tom Quinn and Jason Janego to head the initiative. The duo will attend Toronto with an eye toward acquiring films for the fledging label. Company expects to debut its first title under the new label in the first half of 2012.

“People are realizing that Toronto is a great place to start selling new films,” said FilmNation Entertainment topper Glen Basner. “Equity is coming back after being on (the) sidelines, and that’s a double-edged sword, as while it allows more movies to get made, it doesn’t necessarily mean more good movies. For now, the financial crisis made buyers much more conservative, but the cycle will change.”

As the major studios have dramatically cut back on their production slates, distribution pipelines have opened to indies proffering low- to midrange-budgeted films. Sundance, Berlin and Cannes already saw better-than-expected markets, and after the stunning successes of “Black Swan” and “The King’s Speech,” the summer B.O. tallies for Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” have bolstered the general sense that this is a good time to be an indie.

An eclectic mix of titles has emerged with elevated expectations for sales during Toronto: horror projects “You’re Next” and “The Awakening“; relationship dramas “360,” “Shame,” “Take This Waltz” and “Winnie“; police drama “Rampart“; enivronmental thriller “The Hunter“; and comedies “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” and “Friends With Kids.”

Amber Entertainment and Haxan Films — the banner behind “The Blair Witch Project” — believe buyers can’t get enough horror, and rather than sell off foreign rights, they’ve fully financed “Lovely Molly,” formerly dubbed “The Possession.”

“It’s a calculated risk, but we think we’ll come out much better with an unencumbered film,” said Amber’s Jane Fleming. “We think that we can do far more on international sales than we saw in the estimates.”

To continue reading …http://bit.ly/qD5k15

Written by Dave McNary

Ok, so here we are days away from the most exciting 10 days of films, industry networking, receptions/parties and of course stars. What I am taking about “TIFF”.  It’s the most recognized four letters that are now redefining the lengthy title of one of the largest public festival in the world – Toronto International Film Festival.

LUCKY – dir Avie Luthra (South Africa)

Each year I spend an afternoon reviewing the official selections and then I compile a list of films for friends and those who find it hard to choose from over 310 films. TIFF has served as a star-studded kickoff to awards season – four out of the five most recent best-picture winners debuted here, as well as dozens of other trophy-netting performances and directorial acknowledgements, so wouldn’t you want to say you were sitting in the theatre when said film premiered. I’m been fortunate to see those Oscar nominated films here at TIFF but I have to admit I have less fortunate in seeing the Plame d’Or winning film in Cannes. So, perhaps if you follow my suggestions this year; you could just easily become one of the first when the Oscar race begins to say proudly – “I’ve seen that”. 

The list below is comprise of some of my favourite artists such as directors, writers and actors. Directors like Steve McQueen (A name you won’t soon forget), Lar Von Tier (a name most during Cannes didn’t want to associated with, Alexander Payne, Fernando Meirelles , Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Pedro Almodóvar and Canadian Jean Marc Valle. Actors such as Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Jude Law, Clive Owen, Michelle Yeoh and Charlotte Gainsbourg. I’ve also included a film made by a friend of mine from South Africa Akin Omotoso(MAN ON GROUND) and a touching short film that I programmed years ago now a feature film carrying the same title LUCKY – but luck has nothing to do with it. By far South Africa has come a long way in telling their stories – 3 films from the once oppressed African country made my list. I’m also delighted to included Oscar winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher directorial debut film VIOLET & DAISY, Fletcher won the Oscar for the adaptation of PRECIOUS in 2009.

SHAME – dir Steve McQueen (United Kingdom)

As always – I must caution you on my selections – storyline and themes can be quite heavy. If you find yourself in need of mental health day after seeing one or two from the section ”Highly Recommend” films – then consider yourself warned.

There were certain key words that came to mind when I compiled the list – mass migration, unravelling, morality, struggle, give up, extinct, selfish and shame – lies as the trend for this year. It’s not far cry from my overview of what I saw in Cannes – mostly all of the Cannes line-up made it to TIFF this year. (Note – the films that have * I’ve watched in Cannes)

So whether or not you choose from the 25 films that I carved from roughly 310 and I hope you do, it’s a testament to the TIFF programmers. I can only imagine their choices must have been harder.

However, if you rather take a stab at choosing on your own, never the less the outcome will still remain the same. We will all gather in the dark cinema anxious to be moved to tears, laugh, learn and be frighten (Midnight Madness) by our personal choice. You can almost hear the silence as you patiently wait for that projection to begin.

Bon festival! And as always please let us know what you will see at the festival.

Highly Recommended

   1.   SHAME – dir Steve McQueen pervious film HUNGER (United Kingdom)    

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/shame

   2.   THE ARTIST – dir Michel Hazanavicius (France)  

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/theartist 

360 – dir Fernando Meirelles

   3.   360 – dir Fernando Meirelles  previous film CITY OF GOD &CONSTANT GARDERNER

           http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/360film

   4.   WE NEED TO TALK TO KEVIN* – dir Lynne Ramsay (United Kingdom)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/weneedtotalkaboutkevin

   5.   BEAUTY* – dir Oliver Hermanus (South Africa)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/beauty

BEAUTY – dir Oliver Hermanus

   6.   ELENA* – dir Andrei Zvyagintsev (Russia)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/elena

   7.   ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA* - dir Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)

           http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/onceuponatimeinanato

   8.   DRIVE* – dir Nicolas Winding Refn previous film (Valhalla Rising) (U.S.A)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/drive

DRIVE – dir Nicolas Winding Refn

   9.   LUCKY – dir Avie Luthra (South Africa)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/lucky

  10.  CAFE DE FORE – dir Jean-Marc Vallée previous film C.R.A.Z.Y (Canada)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/cafedeflore

  11.  MELANCHOLIA* - dir Lar Von Tier (Denmark)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/melancholia

MELANCHOLIA - dir Lar Von Tier

  12.  THE SKIN I LIVE IN – dir Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)

           http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/theskinilivein

  13.  LIPSTIKKA – dir Jonathan Sagall (Israel)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/lipstikka

  14.  THE KID WITH A BIKE* – dir The Dardenne Brothers previous film  L’enfant (Belgium)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/kidwithabike

Documentary - LAST CALL AT THE OASIS – Dir Jessica Yu

  15.  LAST CALL AT THE OASIS – Dir Jessica Yu (U.S)

          http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/lastcallattheoasis 

Definitely Worth The Rush Line

COLOUR OF THE OCEAN – dir Maggie Peren (Germany)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/coloroftheocean

 SPLEEPING BEAUTY – dir Julia Leigh (Australia) http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/sleepingbeauty2

 MICHEAL  - dir Markus Schleinzer (Austria)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/michael2

MICHEAL - dir Markus Schleinzer

 KILLER ELITE – dir Gary McKendry (U.S/Australia)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/killerelite

 THE LADY – dir Luc Besson (France) http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/thelady

 STARBUCK – dir Ken Scott (Canada)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/starbuck

 THE DECENDENTS – dir Alexander Payne previous film SIDEWAYS (U.S)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/descendants

 DARK GIRLS – dir Bill Duke (U.S) http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/darkgirls

 MAN ON GROUND – dir Akin Omotoso (South Africa)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/manonground

 VIOLET & DAISY – dir Geoffrey Fletcher  (U.S)http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/violetdaisy

VIOLET & DAISY – dir Geoffrey Fletcher (2009 Oscar winning writer now director)

The Oscar launching pads start at the Venice Film Festival (August 31-September 10), followed by Telluride over Labor Day weekend, and then finally the Toronto International Film Festival (September 8-18). Last year, three of the 10 Best Picture nominees screened at the Venice and/or Toronto (and it was five the year before).

Will this be a good year?

Among the possible, likely, or essentially assured filmmakers who will premiere at Venice, Telluride or Toronto are Steven Soderbergh, Walter Salles, George Clooney, Whit Stillman, Sarah Polley, Jason Reitman, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Alexander Payne, David Cronenberg, Andrea Arnold and, yes, Madonna. 

Here’s a list of 50 films, all new movies that haven’t played anywhere yet…

”50/50,” directed by Jonathan Levine

”Albert Nobbs,” directed by Rodrigo García

”Alps,” directed Giorgos Lanthimos

”A Burning Summer” (Un été brûlant), directed by Philippe Garrel

”Butter,” directed by Jim Field Smith

From the director of "C.R.A.Z.Y" and "Young Victoria"

”Café de flore,” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Canada)

”Carnage,” directed by Roman Polanski

”Chicken With Plums, directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis 2007)

“The Congress,” directed by Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir 2009) http://bit.ly/k94TQz

”Contagion” and “Haywire,” both directed by Steven Soderbergh

”A Dangerous Method,” directed by David Cronenberg (Canada)

”Dark Horse,” directed by Todd Solondz

”The Deep Blue Sea,” directed by Terence Davies

”The Descendants,” directed by Alexander Payne http://bit.ly/kQ1KZP

”Dream House,” directed by Jim Sheridan

”Faust,” directed by Alexander Sokurov

”The Fields,” directed by Ami Canaan Mann

”For Ellen,” directed by So Yong Kim

“Garbage in the Garden of Eden,” directed by Fatih Akin

”The Grandmasters,” directed by Wong Kar Wai

“High Chicago,” directed by Alfons Adetuyi

”Human Centipede II,” directed by Tom Six

”The Ides of March,” directed by George Clooney (Venice Opening Night Film)

”The Impossible,” directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

”In Time,” directed by Andrew Niccol

Meryl Streep as Margret Thatcher

”The Iron Lady,” directed by Phyllida Lloyd – Meryl Streep as Margret Thatcher      

“Jeff Who Lives at Home, directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass

”The Lady,” directed by Luc Besson

“Margaret, directed by Kenneth Lonergan

”Moneyball,” directed by Bennett Miller

“The Moth Diaries,” directed by Mary Harron

”My Week With Marilyn,” directed by Simon Curtis – http://bit.ly/kuTgOS

”On The Road, directed by Walter Salles

”Paradise,” directed by Ulrich Seidl

”Prey,” directed by Brillante Mendoza

”Rampart,” directed by Oren Moverman

“RasTa: A Soul’s Journey,” directed by Stuart Samuels

”The Rum Diary,” directed by Bruce Robinson

”Seven Days,” directed by Michael Winterbottom

"Shame" is Steve McQueen's next film after the hit "Hunger" in 2008

”Shame,” directed by Steve McQueen

“Simon Killer,” directed by Antonio Campos

”The Sitter,” directed by David Gordon Green

”Take This Waltz,” directed by Sarah Polley (Canada)

”Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” directed by Tomas Alfredsson

”Twixt Now and Sunrise,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola

“Wanderlust,” directed by David Wain

”W.E.,” directed by Madonna

”Wuthering Heights,” directed by Andrea Arnold

”Young Adult,” directed by Jason Reitman (Canada)

Please keep in mind with our programs (internship, networking & filmmakers’ institute) you can see many of these films at the festival and enjoy networking receptions and the hospitality of a beautiful city – Toronto. http://bit.ly/l5U5EH

Thanks to indieWire.com for the list of films – for detailed synopsis on each film above  – click http://bit.ly/kLYDf6