{"id":126222,"date":"2025-11-10T19:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/126222\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T19:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:25:10","slug":"kristen-stewarts-directorial-debut-is-fueled-by-a-small-distributor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/126222\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristen Stewart’s Directorial Debut\u00a0Is Fueled by a Small Distributor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen Kristen Stewart<\/a>\u2019s acclaimed feature directorial debut, \u201cThe Chronology of Water,\u201d was acquired for domestic distribution by the Forge a few months after its Cannes premiere in May, one question crossed the minds of many people in the industry: What the hell is the Forge?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAfter COVID started, it gave me an opportunity to think, as a film producer, about what sales entity I would want to work with, to have a vehicle to release films that we were intending to produce,\u201d says founder Mark Mathias Sayre. \u201cWe had some early success, and a couple of contemporaries asked if we would handle their sales or distribution. Fast forward a couple years, and now it\u2019s all we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs a flood of content has crowded the marketplace, so has an avalanche of new boutique distributors<\/a> looking to release it, often prioritizing what their filmmakers want or targeting specific audiences. In the past year or two, companies like 1-2 Special, Cartuna x Dweck, the Future of Film Is Female, Joint Venture, Muscle Distribution, Suncatcher Prods., Watermelon Pictures, Willa and more have begun placing low-budget indies in theaters. It\u2019s been happening on a larger scale as well: since launching in 2023, AMC Theatres Distribution has turned to domestic distribution experts Variance Films to get the lay of the land. Its operation has had big successes with concert docs like \u201cRenaissance: A Film by Beyonc\u00e9\u201d and other event presentations.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut having more options doesn\u2019t necessarily make a producer\u2019s path easier. \u201cThe biggest thing you need is patience, and you have to find your niche,\u201d says Mabel Tam, senior VP of film and head programmer at Landmark Theatres. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all approach anymore.\u201d She cites the Jewish\/Catholic interfaith comedy \u201cBad Shabbos\u201d as one example. \u201cThey released it in Florida first, before they even hit New York or L.A., and then targeted where they wanted to go. You have to be nimble and patient and watch your release calendar, making sure you\u2019re not competing with anything too big.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Urchin\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat might beat finding a niche audience for your film? A distributor that has a niche audience for its entire slate. Watermelon Pictures, a branch of Chicago-based MPI Media Group, focuses on Palestinian cinema and related subjects. Since it was founded in 2024 by brothers Badie and Hamza Ali with creative director Alana Hadid (sister of models Gigi and Bella Hadid), it\u2019s distributed around a dozen films and launched the Watermelon+ streaming service. Its potential to reach underserved audiences is similar to the way Angel Studios has found success with viewers seeking family-friendly and faith-based content.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuncatcher Prods., which recently handled theatrical distribution for the Armenian documentary \u201cThere Was, There Was Not,\u201d with Watermelon handling ancillary, is a label focusing on the theatrical release of films about women, people with disabilities and the environment. Amazon and Focus Features vet Annalisa Shoemaker founded the company in 2023 as a for-hire theatrical distribution outfit. It got off to an auspicious start with Oscar nominee \u201cTo Kill a Tiger,\u201d taking the film from its awards-qualifying run to more than 40 arthouse cinemas. Shoemaker recently departed from her doc-heavy lineup, working with AMC Theatres to book the rom-com \u201cGood Bad Things\u201d and setting it up for a Hulu streaming deal. \u201cOne of our goals at Suncatcher is building community, working backwards from the audience to learn what they want and how to bring them together,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn its surface, the Future of Film Is Female\u2019s agenda seems pretty direct: create gender parity in the film industry by supporting the productions, exhibition and promotion of women who are first-time filmmakers. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve seen, leading out of the festivals, is that there\u2019s not a lot of [gender] parity in what kind of films get picked up afterwards,\u201d says programmer and FOFIF founder Caryn Coleman, who launched her nearly eight-year-old org\u2019s distribution arm a year ago. \u201cOne of the reasons I wanted to do this is because there are more of these films than I could possibly handle.\u201d But her model is something that could have far more widespread applications: using a nonprofit org to fund it all. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that we don\u2019t try to recoup the money we put into it, but as a nonprofit, we try and do that via different means.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe production\/distribution outfit Willa \u201cfocuses on socially and culturally important films,\u201d says founder Elizabeth Woodward. Willa\u2019s impressive lineup of films includes Claire Denis\u2019 \u201cThe Fence\u201d and Spirit Awards nominee \u201cLa Cocina.\u201d \u201cSundance Institute is really engaged in the future of distribution, so they invited me to be part of their fellowship,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s where I really formalized Willa\u2019s business model, with some great mentors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Good Bad Things\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile most of these new distribs lean towards more serious fare, there are a few notable exceptions. Cartuna x Dweck, a partnership of Hannah Dweck and Ted Schaefer\u2019s Dweck Prods. with James Belfer\u2019s Cartuna animation studio, is launching its operations with \u201cDead Lover,\u201d a horror-comedy they plan to screen with scratch-and-sniff \u201cStink-O-Vision\u201d cards. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking at some of the cooler, weirder types of films we\u2019d like to get involved with, and we don\u2019t see the market being very favorable to them,\u201d Belfer says. \u201cAnd we\u2019d work with certain companies and things didn\u2019t make sense to us. So we [thought], \u2018Why don\u2019t we put our energy towards distribution?\u201d Their equal in camp might just be Muscle Distribution, recently founded by film historian Elizabeth Purchell, which focuses on classic queer underground and art films.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile each of these new companies may not earn a lot, together they can make an impact. \u201cThe new smaller distributors are welcomed by movie theaters, particularly independent movie theaters and smaller theater chains,\u201d says comScore head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cMany of them fill a void by offering up films that, on their own, may not generate a ton of box office, but collectively can add to the bottom line, while simultaneously providing distribution and marketing to fledgling or overlooked films.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s never been easy for independent filmmakers, but the emergence of so many boutique distribs offers a stark reflection of how expectations have changed. \u201cThere are literally dozens of incredible films that premiere at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW and all of these other regional film festivals,\u201d says Lela Meadow-Conner, a board member at the independent exhibitor group Art House Convergence. \u201cYet traditional theatrical distributors\u2019 marketing budgets have dwindled, or they\u2019re not seeing the box office returns they had in the past. But [boutique distributors\u2019] windows and terms are often more favorable for theaters. Some of them will even do a 50\/50 split.\u201d And several distribs acknowledge that theatrical is often just a loss leader. \u201cThey see theatrical as marketing, in hopes of recouping some of that money with streaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne buzzword you\u2019ll hear a lot in the indie distribution space is \u201cbespoke,\u201d a fancy way of saying that each film\u2019s release is tailored specifically to that feature and its unique audience. Joint Venture, a new company co-founded by Participant vet Chris Lane, promises to \u201cbuild coalitions with filmmakers, audiences and partners to unlock the potential of each film.\u201d It gives filmmakers a chance to have greater involvement in their film\u2019s rollout, target communities with specific ties to their characters or subject matter, and offer others a chance to partner with them on a marketing campaign or screenings. For its recent release, \u201cIf You See Something,\u201d a romantic thriller centering on an Iraqi doctor seeking political asylum in the U.S., the film\u2019s website encourages viewers to join or donate to an org that welcomes refugee families.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u2018La Cocina\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tIn February, former Sideshow exec Jason Hellerstein launched 1-2 Special, assembling a team of indie film vets to release up to 10 theatrical releases a year. While many distribs claim to be filmmaker- friendly, 1-2 Special aims to involve them as little or as much as they\u2019d like, and to be as transparent as possible about the process. The label got off to a solid start on Oct. 10 with actor Harris Dickinson\u2019s feature directorial debut, \u201cUrchin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are also new boutique outfits that claim to be \u201cfilmmaker first\u201d operations, where producers get their share of box office before, or at the same time as, the distributors. \u201cThat is a premise that a lot of startup distributors have subscribed to, or have branded themselves as,\u201d says entertainment attorney Elsa Ramo of Ramo Law. \u201cAnd then the devil\u2019s in the details: Is that truly how the deal is structured? Are there hidden costs and fees? Do they have a business plan that\u2019s going to generate any revenue at all? With so much volatility in the marketplace, the best version of a deal provides some sort of advance or minimum guarantee. When you\u2019re just dealing with revenue share, it becomes a much riskier proposition for the producer. Nothing is better than [getting] the most money upfront.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEven though the influx of new players is exciting, Ramo says producers shouldn\u2019t let their guard down. \u201cIn terms of evaluating distribution, you want to make sure that it\u2019s not just about the offer on the table,\u201d she says. \u201cAre these companies going to have cash a year from now? Because in these cycles of emerging distributors, the one thing that hasn\u2019t gone away is that you really need to do your due diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Kristen Stewart\u2019s acclaimed feature directorial debut, \u201cThe Chronology of Water,\u201d was acquired for domestic distribution by the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[22392,146,85,46,6951],"class_list":["post-126222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-distributors","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-kristen-stewart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}