from Encore Magazine.

A first time feature documentary maker has struck a deal with Woolworths to distribute his film. Woolworths will stock DVDs of Australian Joe Cross’s healthy living documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead in the produce section of its supermarket.

Cross’s story is the opposite to Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me. As an overweight broker, Cross sold his company and used a roadtrip across America with a cameraman, sound guy and a juicer as a way to get slim. While eating and drinking only fruit and vegetables Cross aimed to discover why people didn’t eat better.

Cross told Encore: “I did the deal directly. Woolworths are supporting the film as their view is this is a film that inspires people to eat more fresh food and they’re the fresh food people.”

Read the rest of this article from Encore Magazine.

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by Anthony Kaufman.

Netflix was founded on the principle that it provided access to movies—all movies, including the most obscure indie titles. By promising to sell less of more, it was a new-economy poster child, a publicly traded argument for the long tail.

Today, it looks like Netflix is docking its tail with a more old-fashioned strategy: Give (most of) the people (most of) what they want. And while Netflix—and some of its suppliers—are quick to defend the company’s indie stance, it’s clear some smaller players are being pushed aside.

According to indie filmmakers and distributors, the shift began a year or two ago when Netflix changed their buying metric — the measure of how many DVD titles they purchase on individual films. One distributor says the company used to take smaller-title DVDs in relatively modest orders of 30-60 units, whereas they’re now focused on reordering only titles that can sustain hundreds of units. (Netflix corporate communications VP Steve Swasey won’t comment on the number of DVDs the company orders.)

Read the rest of this article from IndieWire.

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This article was written by Marc Halperin.

The Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, some  films are being bought and others are not. Understanding the reasons for these decisions is critical for independent filmmakers.  Film Independent recently produced a round table that focused on indie distribution. It’s an offshoot from their Filmmaker Forum, which was held over an entire weekend in early October.

This discussion looked at the economics of distribution; traditional, DIY, and digital strategies. The panelists also addressed the state of film distribution: past, present, and future. Their goal throughout this series was to give filmmakers the unvarnished truth and to look at the industry as it exists.”

Read this article from Global Film Village.

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