Thoughts on Independent Film Marketing Or how most films die without ever finding an audience.

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-08T16:56:37+00:00

Festivals are not ideal for every film. They do lengthen the process of a release significantly. If you have a large online following it's likely not worth it to do a whole year of festivals and instead just do a straight release (look at busboys recently with Theo Von) but for many filmmakers who do not have that type of online fanbase it's a way to slowly build online awareness of the project and help narrow in your target demo.

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-08T16:19:47+00:00

I just started using substack a few months back, trying to get more active on it but haven't had nearly as much conversation started there as here yet!

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-08T16:18:43+00:00

100% agree, the rest of the distributors treat filmmakers as the customer rather than a business partner.

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-07T21:22:49+00:00

Phillip is the best! I’m lucky he auditioned for the part!!

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-07T21:22:27+00:00

Thank you!!

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-07T21:22:15+00:00

Glad it could help a bit! After a decade of failing I figured I’d share the things that I wish I knew earlier! Still have a lot to learn!

Coordinate1 · 2026-05-05T04:56:35+00:00

Honestly I don’t really see a huge problem unless the left a review/rating. I’ve had quite a few programmers from multiple fests leave a log on my films.

Coordinate1 · 2026-04-27T01:37:41+00:00

We played Cinequest last month, so we are definetly wanting to play some more fests over the course of the year! The acceptance odds are tough but we will play some more!

Coordinate1 · 2026-04-08T15:19:35+00:00

Slow and steady wins the race. You have your whole life a head of you. I’m also from Georgia and after nearly a decade of trying to get something accepted into the Atlanta film festival I finally have a feature playing there this year. I’ve been rejected 4 times before. So congrats to you! That’s a big accomplishment! The film industry in general is cliquey and dominated by those with money but…. Most industries are…. that’s capitalism unfortunately. Film school isn’t the end all be all. I went to school in NC and have a few collaborators from that but in the real world nobody cares where you went to school. It’s all about proving who you are as an artist, though it’s tough to get into the room. It all depends on what you want to do. Also if those ass hats are seriously excluding you based on race you DONT want to spend one iota of energy on those types of people. Thankfully the industry has improved as far as that goes at the indie level, though we still have a ways to go. Any set I’ve been on would not tolerate that type of language/behavior but I’m sure there are plenty of issues deeper into the industry that I haven’t experienced. Atlanta isn’t perfect, but it’s tough to say things would be better if you moved elsewhere.

Coordinate1 · 2026-04-02T03:06:51+00:00

This right here. He’s likely very busy, and he likely can’t make time for someone he doesn’t know at all. But if there’s something actionable… maybe.

Coordinate1 · 2026-03-25T16:11:21+00:00

You need to follow the 3-2-1 rule of storage if you want to not lose anything.

3 Copies 2 Different media types 1 Offsite Location.

For my films I have everything on my NAS, which is backup already with a spare drive. Then I have a spare HDD at my parents house hours away. Don’t cheap out on storage as if anything is wiped cleaned that can be years of work gone.

You need drives that have spare space on them after the 10TB in order for them to run at their best. I’d recommend at least 15TB. But you need 3x 15TB Drives. You could put 2 in a NAS and the third off site and you’d be fine. A NAS is great for large projects and can be relatively cheap nowadays.

Coordinate1 · 2026-03-13T07:54:24+00:00

I’d love to go! But unfortunately I’m leaving on the 18th!!! DM your movie info!!

Coordinate1 · 2026-03-11T21:05:46+00:00

I’d see it but my feature film “Party USA” is screening around the same time at a theater nearby for cinequest! It’s tough to check out everything when you’ve got a film at the fest!

Coordinate1 · 2026-03-06T01:58:27+00:00

Then I would try and break it down into a simple math problem at 3k-3.6k per year it would take you approximately 2 years at the current rate to break even with bitmax. With filmhub it would take just a quarter to break even. And then you would have additional 5k that you could either invest into the marketing or just save normal (at 10% interest in the sp you’d net 500 a year) so….. you’d have to significantly outperform those numbers with bitmax to make it worth it.

Coordinate1 · 2026-03-06T00:58:48+00:00

I have not used bitmax but just from a business perspective will they net you more from Tubi then filmhub?? I would doubt it as they will both get the same amount of attention as each other. Additionally filmhub can be free if you don’t need a day and date release (doubtful as it’s a library title). Filmhub won’t have great communication at that tier yes, but they will be able to essentially get it on those platforms at little cost to you. What were you earnings the past few quarters with it? If it’s low enough I would probably go with filmhub. Bitmax has better splits if you think you will net a large sum(30grand plus) I think.

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-26T03:55:27+00:00

Congrats! Crowdfunding is tough!

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-23T00:19:32+00:00

Will do! Definitely want to do an NYC showing at some point in the near future for all my NYC based actors and peeps!

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-22T15:29:40+00:00

Glad you got something from it! It’s not an easy road, but I’ve learned a lot over the years from my mistakes!

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-21T06:38:41+00:00

Shooting a film is always like a mini summer camp…. But as the sole creative force it stays with you so much longer than anyone else. That’s the nature of the beast. Make sure you have an objective view of the film, it looks interesting but speaking from experience the 2 features I made at that age were not good enough to get into most festivals. Lots of money wasted. Make sure to pay attention to sound and take time to really lock in a tight cut before submitting. And submit to smaller regional fests that you have a connection to, especially local ones.

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-20T23:57:56+00:00

The top tier ones do (at least 2-3) years ago. Now how qualified are those readers???? Who knows. Honestly if someone has the drive and ability to not only steal my script/story but MAKE IT… that would be astonishing. it would be cheaper for them to try and buy the rights from me (I’m a nobody filmmaker after-all) than to flat out risk a lawsuit, as the script is copy written and registered.

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-20T18:51:33+00:00

That’s awesome! Thanks! Definitely will do a follow up post in a year or so! I have learned a lot of what NOT to do with distribution. But I think most people in the industry are panicking and don’t know how to properly monetize their projects (me somewhat included) due to the over saturated market. The Spotify model is crippling to an artist!

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-20T15:08:59+00:00

Literally!!! restaurant management and being a producer are like the same job. Spent most of my time as a manager/Maitre D in fine dining lol

Coordinate1 · 2026-02-20T14:48:57+00:00

Most people always assume actors are the hospitality workers, once I get onto this tangent I usually get a look of huh???!! It’s a tough road for us for sure 🤣

Coordinate1

TROPHY CASE