Historically the rule of thumb was that it should take about 7 years for a film to transition from theatrical release to free television as it slowly moved through its “windows.” Today those same windows have dramatically collapsed; they can be 7 months or even shorter. What happened and why? Is this good for independent film? Whether you’re a filmmaker, producer, sales rep, or consumer you need to understand windows. The Watching Windows panel will explore, define, and elaborate on windows as they relate to a film’s financial success and audience reach. You’ll hear from industry experts who understand filmmakers’ desires and guide them through distribution realities. The panel will discuss distribution strategies whether they be DIY or more traditional “all rights deals.” They will examine transactional VOD and free or ad-sponsored VOD and offer suggestions on how to exploit both. They will discuss efficient and effective marketing campaigns as they relate to the different windows. Collectively the panel has released over 1000 films over the last 4 years and will candidly share their experiences with the audience.
Michael is the Executive Vice President at Gravitas Ventures, LLC. He is responsible for acquiring & programming more than 30 independent films and events to over 50 cable, satellite, and telco operators in N.America each month. He has negotiated numerous license agreements with leading entertainment companies including Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Amazon, AT&T, Charter Communications, Rogers Cable, Cogeco Cable, Hulu, Netflix, Google/YouTube, Suddenlink, & DISH Network. Prior to joining Gravitas Ventures in 2007, Michael was Captain in the US Army.
As the founder of Variance Films, Dylan and the Variance team work directly with filmmakers using an inventive model that allows wonderful films to get a studio-quality theatrical release for a fraction of the standard costs, while filmmakers maintain 100% ownership of all rights throughout. Current Variance releases include SXSW 2010 favorites AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY and STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRITT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, as well as international hits IP MAN 2 and LEGEND OF THE FIST. Upcoming films include John Sayles' AMIGO. Dylan enjoys groundbreaking films and hanging out with puppies, and believes there's no such thing as a martini that's not made from gin.
Diana Wechsler Kerekes
Vice President, Entertainment Services
Comcast Cable
Diana Kerekes is Vice President of Entertainments Services at Comcast Corporation where she oversees the daily management, delivery and strategic direction of video content as well as working on partnerships with programming providers to produce, organize and promote their content on Comcast’s video services. Ms. Kerekes joined Comcast in 2003.
CORA OLSON founded Present Pictures with Jennifer Dubin. Their credits include THE BABYSITTERS, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and GOOD DICK, which premiered at Sundance and was subsequently self-distributed across all platforms. Present Pictures is currently in post on THE PERFECT FAMILY, starring Kathleen Turner, and prepping Jocelyn Towne’s debut feature I AM I, which was partially crowd-funded on Kickstarter.
