Shorts Special:Distribution
by Sonia Castang

Distribution is the vital link between making the film and it actually appearing on the television or cinema screen. Last year 50% of all British features made in the UK had not found a distributor, for shorts it's even harder. As the copyright owner of the film you can go directly to television stations and cinemas or try and get a sales agent or distributor to do it for you.

Jane Balfour, sales agents with a commitment to shorts, will take on your film if they think they can sell it on. Sarah Banbery, TV Sales Executive, gets in between 10 to 15 shorts per week and says from that she'll choose around 30 a year. She says that she is tired of one joke films and wants more, something "well directed that captures your imagination". She says to "think about who your audience is. Is anybody going to want to watch this?"

Her company work on commission so it's in their interest to get your film seen, 95% of their sales are for television, getting a theatrical release other than at festivals is very hard. They have a Producer's Pack which gives information about how they work and guidance on markets. On average, films they take on make around £10,000, their most popular this year was the Sankofa film "Is it The Design on The Wrapper?"

The British Council, Film & Television Department distribute around 120 films every year, and get sent in triple that. Their remit is to promote the work of new filmmaking in Britain, overseas. They are keen to discover who the new voices are from all backgrounds. Satwant Gill who acquires shorts says "We are the flrst port of call for people from overseas looking for British films." They also have limited funding to help film-makers that have had a film accepted by a festival. You can send your film to The Short Film Bureau who have set up a distribution outflt to get short films seen not only on traditional outlets like cinema and television, but also on planes, trains and even ferries. One of their most exciting crusades is that they are proposing to distributors that shorts should be included at the beginning of video releases.

You can also approach television companies yourself, BBC2 has The Talent and Channel 4 has The Shooting Gallery. Nick Jones, Editor of film programming at Channel 4 also has their new digital film channel as a showcase for shorts. I spoke to him before their launch and he recalled how he had seen the Levi short "Desserts" (which also got a release with "Divorcing Jack") at The Edinburgh Film Festival and decided that it would be a good film to show on their flrst night. For the Shooting Gallery they pay pounds 120 per min, which they will licence for about 3 to 5 years, and will also show on the pay TV channel. If the film is only going to be shown on the pay TV channel then they will pay around £30 per minute. For the next series of The Shooting Gallery they will be viewing films between January and June. He says that without generalising, he looks for "Shorts that are a little bit edgy", but, "… not necessarily wildly experimental."

Avenues for getting your short seen are expanding. Keep knocking on doors and persistence will pay off especially if you have thought about the audience with which you are trying to communicate. To sit in a cinema with 300 people and hear them laugh or gasp when you wanted them to, or to know that potentially thousands of people could be watching your film on television has to be one of the biggest joys of filmmaking

(c)All rights reserved Blackfilmmakers 1998