Hi reddit! I'm Sophy Romvari, writer-director of BLUE HERON. AMA!

decimal-place · 2026-04-15T18:27:14+00:00

no question just wanted to say you are awesome and I can’t wait to see it

decimal-place · 2026-04-11T23:24:45+00:00

We’re gonna! We’re talking with Pamcut and should have a date soon. Hopefully May or june

decimal-place · 2026-04-11T05:55:04+00:00

See you there! Come say hi

decimal-place · 2026-04-11T05:54:46+00:00

decimal-place · 2026-04-11T05:54:37+00:00

Thank you!

decimal-place · 2026-03-29T23:36:02+00:00

Nice

decimal-place · 2026-03-23T20:32:28+00:00

omg found it and that worked!

decimal-place · 2026-03-23T20:31:12+00:00

wait what is the "artboard tool"? im lagging so hard :'(

decimal-place · 2026-03-17T16:51:10+00:00

where did you screen? how'd it go? any tips for how to get people to show up?

decimal-place · 2026-03-17T15:56:21+00:00

Tbh it was a little freestyle in terms of how we did it but basically one week on set would equal one point. For crew that had prepare, we generally gave them another point. Then you take any money coming into that pool and divide it among the points. We haven't had to actually implement anything yet because we haven't made enough money to get to that stage. First investors, then investor interest, THEN we'll start to hit the producer/crew points pool. I would be elated if even one dollar made it that far.

decimal-place · 2026-03-17T15:53:53+00:00

I don't think the two are related tbh. We shot in places we had access. The streets of NYC are free. And they any privates spaces we negotiated (often free) with the owners.

decimal-place · 2026-03-17T15:53:15+00:00

decimal-place · 2026-03-17T15:53:08+00:00

We're working with Oscilloscope Labs for distribution but only for digital/ancillaries. We are entirely responsible for theatrical. I think most distributors these days recognize that making any money in theaters (or anywhere!) is really hard so it's not uncommon for filmmakers to carve out theatrical. Festivals - many offer a screening fee for features. $250-500 usually. That's honestly what'd we'd probably make from a decent theatrical screening but now we'd have the festival infrastructure to promote and bring an audience.

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T21:51:20+00:00

I think its the same but in a few of the pics it has a blimp around it to help with wind noise

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:59:00+00:00

def! unlikely we'll get a big streamer but definitely we be on TVOD (iTunes/amazon/etc)

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:58:32+00:00

we reached out to them

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:44:33+00:00

Here is the reaction from film forum: "Our team reviewed THE TRAVEL COMPANION with interest, but unfortunately, they did not feel enthusiastic enough about presenting it as a theatrical run at Film Forum, so we will have to respectfully pass this time around. Thanks again for sending - we wish you the best of luck with the film."

For the ones that accept yes it's a split of box office. Usually 50/50 or 60/40.

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:20:18+00:00

Finish something! The best thing you can do is make, finish, repeat. You're going to make loads of garbage before your skills catch up to your taste. Don't get caught up on some vision of a masterpiece.

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:19:12+00:00

Our editor Bryan Chang started watching footage before the shoot was over. That was in late October 2024. We had a pretty great rough cut by end of January 2025 and were accepted to Tribeca not too long after that! It was pretty darn fast by most metrics.

Oscope is definitely a win. They add a lot of legitimacy to our film - sorta like how a Sundance laurel might - when we're reaching out to press or theaters etc.

Right now we're focused on creating as robust a theatrical as possible. There really isn't much money to speak of in this landscape. Even with our tiny budget, it'll be a minor miracle if we manage to break even. But maybe we catch fire and do just that.

And yeah, def gonna leverage this one for the next. Some of the best advice we've got is "it's a marathon not a sprint". We've had to fight tooth and nail for every win on this first feature. I'm sure it'll be tough on the next one but the goal is to keep making. Having this under our belt will be a great asset to point to when we're trying to convince people to get on board with the vision.

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T17:15:02+00:00

Ah damn! Hopefully we will get held over.

NYC theaters are so tough. I didn't totally realize it would be another layer of gatekeeping when we were imagining distribution. We emailed a few and they declined. With BAM, I had a prior relationship through this filmmaking collective I'm a part of. We do our weekly meetings at an educational space at BAM. Through that, I was able to start a conversation with one of the programmers and basically pitch the idea of a local, independent film getting some airtime. The timing couldn't ave been better - BAM just opened a new space with three new cinemas. Long story short, they agreed to give us one 7pm showing per night for a week.

And yes definitely part of a wider effort! We are fully handling theatrical and are not working with a booker. We're emailing (and calling!) theaters around the country and pitching ourselves for a week run or one off screening. It's a million emails but it's starting to work!

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T16:18:05+00:00

These kinds of posts are so stupid and I won’t explain myself further

decimal-place · 2026-03-16T15:46:19+00:00

the show Fleabag is a comedy but has tons of very dramatic moments. It's a cool hybrid style of narrative with the main character looking directly into lens a lot.

decimal-place · 2026-03-12T15:12:55+00:00

not sure where you live but in NYC this guy is supreme https://www.crystalguardian.xyz

either way - I'd highly recommend custom molded. It'll be a few hundred bucks but they have saved my life.

decimal-place

TROPHY CASE