Week 2 - 2022
Intro
Welcome to my weekly blog, where I’m sharing how my company, Together Films, is growing throughout 2022. We are working on a range of exciting projects, and I thought it might be fun to take you on the ride with me.
I know the film industry was a mystery to me when I started, so whether you are fresh out of school and looking for insight into how the ‘business works’ or a mid-career professional in need of some motivation, hopefully, this will be a place to check in once in a while.
I’d love to hear your thoughts as this blog evolves and the areas you want to learn more about. You can reach out to me on Twitter for ease.
✅ Graduated from the Inside Pictures Film Leadership program, including winning Best Pitch with Paula Vaccaro
In May 2021, I was thrilled to learn that I had been accepted on the Inside Pictures training program, the leading business course for film executives in Europe. Each year, they select 10 Producers and 10 Execs to spend 9 months learning the ins and outs of the business. Many colleagues I admire had taken part in this course, and I was unsure if I would qualify for a spot - a common theme that most of my other cohort felt. What followed was an intense 9 months of mentorship, peer-to-peer learning, and a final project pitch to show the panel what we had learned. I clocked up over 200hrs of time working on this course (in addition to growing a scaling business) and it was so worth it. Not only the time to hear from experts on our goals for the new sales division but also learning so much from my new friends. We have an incredible bond, and I know I can ask them for support, and share in return when needed.
I encourage you to take a look at their work, they are really some of the best in the business: Signe Byrge Sørensen, Paula Alvarez Vaccaro, Ameenah Ayub Allen, Jennifer Naughton, Francesca Bianchini, Martina Silcock, Heather Greenwood, Tracy O'Riordan, SOPHIE VENNER, Christelle Randall, Dario Vecchiato, Ginger Wilson, Celine Coulson, Nuala Duffy, Karoliina Dwyer, Venla Hellstedt, Milena Hemmer, Boštjan Virc & Thania Dimitrakopoulou ❤️
A few highlights from their work in the last week:
Signe Byrge Sørensen - FLEE recognized in 3 categories for on the BAFTA longlist
Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner FLEE tells the story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation to director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Executive Produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Produced by Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Signe is also having a great week with President, her Sundance award-winning documentary in cinemas in the UK. You can get tickets for screenings at Bertha DocHouse here.
With the country in economic crisis, long-time Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is ousted in a 2017 coup by then-Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Prior to the ensuing and bitter election, 40-year-old lawyer Nelson Chamisa steps in as opposition leader. There are death threats against the charismatic but relatively inexperienced Chamisa, and he's forced into hiding. Election foul play is suspected, results are delayed and activists hit the streets. Nielsson's documentary won a Sundance Special Jury Award for Verité Filmmaking – just weeks after the storming of the US Capitol. The disgraceful response to America's 2020 election reverberates throughout #President. A timely reminder of what democracy means and how hard it is to reclaim once lost.
Thania Dimitrakopoulou - The Match Factory acquired by MUBI
Thania is the Head of Sales for The Match Factory, one of the most respected sales agencies in the business. There was a big announcement this week as IndieWire writes; Global distributor, streaming platform, and production company MUBI announced today that it has acquired the longtime sales and production companies The Match Factory and Match Factory Productions.
Founded in 2006, The Match Factory is known for bringing specialty films to audiences, including the Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” Oscar-nominated arthouse favorites such as “Waltz with Bashir” and “Toni Erdmann,” award-winning recent films like “Drive My Car,” and also the early films of Jim Jarmusch and the complete library of Aki Kaurismäki.
It’s an exciting announcement for the independent sector to see such prestigious brands working together. I think we will all be eager to see what this means for filmmakers in the future!
I’ll continue to share some wins from my cohort on this blog as we learn from their successes in the market.
✅ Hostile Directed by Sonita Gale was longlisted for Outstanding Debut at the BAFTA’s (and it opens in UK cinemas, this Friday, get your tickets now!)
We started working with Sonita in the summer of 2021 to help refine her impact strategy. She has such big ambitions to tackle one of the most difficult policy areas in the UK; the hostile environment. With our new Head of Marketing & Partnerships, JP Pierrot, in place in the autumn, Sonita asked us to help elevate the film during the BAFTA awards process. We were thrilled to help and supported a range of virtual and in-person Q&As in December. It was so wonderful to then see Sonita see the recognition that she deserves on the Outstanding Debut for a British Writer, Director, or Producer BAFTA longlist. The film is opening in UK cinemas on Friday.
Hostile is a feature-length documentary focusing on the UK’s complicated relationship with its migrant communities. Told through the stories of four participants from Black and Asian backgrounds, the film focuses on the impact of the evolving ‘hostile environment’ policies, which are designed to make living conditions so difficult for migrants that they voluntarily leave the country.
The film explores how the lives of international students, members of the Windrush generation and ‘Highly-Skilled Migrants’ have been affected. What does it mean to be British? What does it feel like to be told you don’t belong? This film seeks to hear these voices and inspire viewers to take action to create long-term change.
The time to act is now.
✅ Hosted a consultancy with an A-List festival on how to increase audience and revenue
Together Films have been providing marketing services for film festivals for the past 4 years, to great success. Our clients include the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, DOC NYC, and Athena Film Festival. During the lockdown, we expanded our services to provide further operational and virtual production support. This included many live streams with leading filmmakers and talent, creating film festival websites, formatting virtual screening solutions to fit each festival, and reviewing business strategy support in this new hybrid world. We found a great value in working on so many festivals (many of which only happen a few days each year), to be able to quickly adapt our thinking and provide strategic advice across our slate to increase performance for all. Simply put, we could experiment with different marketing and audience engagement techniques each month, and help all our festival clients to learn from each other.
This week we hosted a private consultancy with one of our favorite festivals to help them navigate the current key questions:
Should we approach this year as a hybrid format from the start? - Ideally yes!
How do we increase engagement and attention for virtual audiences - a lot of pre-planning and communication
How can we enhance our offering for both the general audience and industry - by clearly defining what the value proposition is for each audience category.
When consulting with such experienced leaders, I always want to impart value in every session. They have been doing this for years, they know their brand really well, so how can I challenge them to think in a different way. How can they look at things from a different perspective?
The feedback from this session was uplifting. “That meeting was amazing - we have so many new ideas to try”.
I love the consultancy work that I do when I can see our clients being empowered. I always leave our sessions with practical ideas that the teams can start actioning that day. It’s not just theoretical, but practical. I can’t wait to see how they use this session to inform their future strategy.
✅ We were invited to work on an incredible film premiering at the Sundance Film Festival (more info to be announced soon)
We have worked on many award-winning Sundance titles over the years, including Unrest, The Tale, and Coded Bias. There is always an air of excitement that kicks in from December when everyone is putting their team in place to launch in Park City. This year was a little different when Sundance announced the move to a full virtual event (to ensure health and safety during covid was respected), and so plans were dramatically changed. We had been in discussion with a new project (that I can announce next week), for a while, and we’re thrilled to get the sign-off this week to move forward.
With the launch of our own sales agency this year, our hope is to have a title at Sundance each season. It is such a wonderful festival that celebrates all forms of filmmaking, and a great place to launch a strategic impact campaign.
Client Feedback this week
"That was the best call of my entire career" (from a film exec we were helping to scale their business)
"Together Films were the one-stop-shop we needed to deliver everything" (from a new studio client in need of a Virtual Screening platform and live Q&A host).
What did you achieve this week that you were proud of? What goal are you aiming for over the coming weeks, months, or years? Let me know on Twitter.