Distribution Manifesto (Talent Campus 2012)

Durante el Campus, entre los distribuidores convocados por primera vez a este espacio, provenientes de lugares tan disímiles como India, Bèlgica, Noruega, México, Argentina o Macedonia, decidimos publicar una suerte de manifiesto que pudiera ser tomado por el festival, realizadores y medios alemanes, y servir para las próximas generaciones de distribuidores convocados al TC.

De las discusiones de toda una semana surgieron varios puntos, a los que, como es lògico, cada uno de nosotros suscribía con mayor o menor vehemencia. Como sea, es interesante como registro de la actualidad de la Distribución (o El Negocio) y su
relación con la Producción (o La Industria)

Acá va el original en inglés:

We as the first ditributor talents invited to the Berlin 2012 talentcampus. We are young independent distribution professionals from all over the world, working with very different films. Surprisingly enough our challenges are extremely similar.

Therefore we would like to say the following:

1.- Funding mechanisms are entirely dedicated to production. Finding the actual audience is not part of the game.

2.- Festivals don't think (and don't care) about the career of a film after the festival. They are part of the production orientated awareness.

3.- Film schools all over the world are obsessed with production. No wonder so much films remain unseen by the audience.

4.- There should be more invested in rising awareness among audiences for the diversity of film, resulting in a greater interest in film in general.

5.- Producers (and directors) should stop making money on films that are (almost) not released and therefore have no revenues.

6.- The animosity between producers/directors and distributors should be overcome by having them both depend on the success of the film.

7.- The actual, traditional film business model is under attack, whether we like that or not.

8.-  Stop slicing the independent industry into separate pieces. Production, distribution and the audience are a whole. 

9.- Work together! Producers, distributors, film makers, festivals, cinemas… need each others expertise to reinvent the industry.