Traditionally, the festival circuit is the funnel to theatrical distribution. But like a funnel, this method enables only a fated few to make it to the marquees. The Internet offers a direct pipeline to viewers without relying on the mercy of big time distributors and movie houses. The complete democratization of technology, coupled with the prevalence of YouTube and its analogues, provides filmmakers a ready way to self-distribute their films.
"Obviously, the Internet will help," Battle for Brooklyn director David Beilinson clarifies. "But the problem is that the filmmakers don't get paid. The main thing is to figure out how to get filmmakers money so that they can continue to make films and still make them available."
The conundrum is clear: It is easier than ever to make a good documentary film, but just as hard to reach an audience in a way that makes a profit. How can a filmmaker make it in this post-millennial environment?
"The web isn't really a destination. The web is millions and millions of destinations. Even something as successful as Netflix and their recommendation engine, it's still not easy to build an audience for a documentary." Sehring strongly believes that only sites of consumption that are a destination—theaters, television or VOD—can offer indie filmmakers a taste of commercial success.
But this relationship will not result in a huge marketing campaign. Sehring admits that in a documentary, "we look for something that will appeal to an audience that has a core following anyway." In this ideal scenario, "you can do a lot of grassroots marketing" for the film, rather than spending the big bucks on promotional material to attract a new following.
Gideon Lichfield, curator of the Economist Film Project on PBS, agrees. "You have to be good at everything," he explains. "It's no longer just about the film itself, it's about the whole process that goes into the making of it, the funding of it, the distribution of it and the promotion of it, because as a filmmaker you have to do all of those things probably to a greater extent than you used to."
While Shimkin acknowledges that the Internet is the future, he still believes in what he calls "the collective viewing experience." Something about a dark room and a rapt crowd makes a movie worthwhile. For this reason, prior to monetizing a film via the Internet, Shimkin would "like to think that there's still a place for them in the theatrical setting."
It all seems to come down to marketing. Unbidden, almost every person I spoke to for this article brought up self-marketing as the primary factor behind the success of a documentary film. It is only a blessed few films that can make it through mainstream channels and specials like PBS' POV Series or OWN Network's new Film Club.
Even if funding is secured, the film is well made and people would be interested in seeing it, it may just come down to luck.
Andy Schupak, a partner in streaming website Festival-of-Films, agrees. "In the old days, you probably had a market to reach the distributor, but today you're going directly to the end user. So you have to figure out how to market to them."
The democratization of technology means that quite suddenly, truly amazing documentary films can be made for the price of a used car. Hollywood's exclusive ownership of filmmaking infrastructure is crumbling. Like in the pivotal technological transitions that have come before, the fate of documentary film will ultimately rest in the eyes of the viewers. Unfortunately, right now many films are getting lost between production to consumption. It is uncertain what the future of distribution—web and otherwise—will bring for documentary filmmakers, but one thing is clear: documentary will still survive.
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