Our collection of Victorian 68mm Mutoscope and Biograph films, the IMAX of their day, have been added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World Register. theb.fi/43QhHd0

If you've just completed your debut low budget indie feature, then this blog post is for you. Your best chance of success? Create your own theatrical release. It's easier than you think and it can be rocket fuel for your ambitions. #indiefilm #filmmaking The list of indie filmmakers who knock on my door regarding their debut feature is long. "What do I do now Marcus?" You may be tempted to reach out to Sales Agents. And it's no bad thing to do so, even at this stage. Lots will take an interest in you and your film. That's their job. But the question you have to ask is this? What exactly are they selling on your behalf within a highly competitive commercial market? How do they make their money? How committed will they be to you and your film? Are you a named filmmaker? No, it's your first feature film. Do you have commercial names attached? In other words, actors that tick distribution boxes? Actors that (rightly or wrongly) convince distributors that this film is a movie product with a ready-made audience? You might have some of those names, but often, because it's so low budget, you won't. And sometimes, those famous faces you managed to attract to a passion project don't always ring the cash register as many of us may imagine (and that's another evolving story). Think of Sales Agents like... Estate Agents (in the UK) or Realtors (in the US). They all want, without any disrespect to you, a bigger house to sell. Sometimes, the work needed to sell a small house is as much as a big house but the remuneration will be miles apart. Hence, they want the bigger house. Also, often, they will need to work a lot harder to sell a smaller house. But that doesn't mean they won't take on your small house or your film. You see, sometimes, that thing that makes an agent take you and your movie on and put in the crazy hours of work needed is an emotional connection - not necessarily money. This happens in every sphere in life. In terms of the Estate Agent/ Realtor - they may have fallen for the family they are selling the house for. They personally want to help that family make as much on the sale as possible. They want to see that family live out their dreams with a great sale. They see it as their personal goal and the thing that makes them feel good. They put in the hours. That might happen with your movie too. Some sales agents just fall in love with the film and money is not the goal. Getting the world to see your movie is. If you find someone like that, hang onto them. Don't worry about the money you're going to lose or make. They aren't either. So, when engaging Sales Agents, read those above paragraphs again. Keep reading them. Because finding those people is rare. If someone doesn't emotionally resonate with your movie, and they are going have to work their guts out to sell it. Why are they doing it? Why? Answer: You're probably just a flip to them. Sorry, you're just product bait. You're a quick £10k cash from somewhere. You're probably never going to make another movie again (is what they are thinking). Why? Because most people never make a second movie. You are fair game. And the experience will break you because you put your heart and soul into a story and now you're just dispensable. When I approached the sales agent, Maura Ford, for Papadopoulos and Sons, she she had little interest in it. She didn't come to the screening that I laid on for all the sales agents. In fact, only a couple came and one of them walked out slamming the door as she left, after just 10 minutes. But Maura's husband did come and he liked the movie. And he said... "Maura, maybe you should see it." When I met Maura for tea and cakes after she had watched a DVD, she had tears in her eyes recounting the story she had just seen. She retold me the entire plot of the film and plucked out details that had touched her or delighted her. The film had melted her sales agent heart. She won't mind me saying that. I knew then, I had met someone that loved my film like I did. And it wasn't about money (although she could and did cut deals too when she needed to - as all good sales agents can). But the hook went deeper. So. Lesson one. Find someone that looks at your movie, like you look at your first child. Because the truth is, any sales agent, like any Estate Agent/ Realtor is in the business to make money and you and your low to no microbudget movie, isn't likely to make money. And any money that is made - that quick £10k or £20k - is going to get swallowed up into the costs of the operation. And it's unlikely you will see anything. Selling movies is expensive. It involves a lot of time, energy and commitment, travel and markets. Even once it's sold the delivery of that product to distributors can be lengthy, time consuming and expensive. Vulnerable and naked. That is what you are, when you complete your low budget indie movie. You are vulnerable because at this point there is very little commercial value in your film. It's not a movie product. It's a film you made. And you're naked. You have very little protection against those that simply don't care about you or what you have to say about the world in the story that you tell. So, how can you create that value? How can you make yourself less vulnerable and at least have some armour before engaging the commercial world of selling movies? Answer: Create your own theatrical release. I need to say it again. CREATE YOUR OWN THEATRICAL RELEASE. I cannot say this enough. Create your own theatrical release. There has never been a better time for indies to do so and make an impact. Especially now when so many multi-million dollar projects go straight to the streamer without touching a cinema screen. To do that you need to engage a "Cinema Booker" and create the best plan you can with the budget you have to get your film into cinemas in a way that triggers the film reviews. The film reviews are priceless. They create the value. They create validation in the market. Of course, the best way you can create value and validation is getting your debut feature film picked up at Sundance or Berlin or Cannes but as we are finding out, over the years, these festivals are losing their soul to Reality TV stars on the carpet and shoe horned movie products from studios on the basis that movie stars walk the red carpet. Yes, I know it's a business. Yes, I know this is how it is. But no, it's not necessarily the best vehicle to discover new and emerging voices. The theatrical release you take control of cuts all that out the equation. Because even if you do get to Berlin, the press coverage at that time might be overwhelmingly in the favour of all the bigger filmmakers and stars that are there. Doing your own theatrical release, often in a quieter time, gives you more space to dominate those pages or catch the eye of respected critics or publications. The range of options can go from "Four Wall" - which means you buy out the entire space for a discount (so you own the cinema for that screening of your movie and take all the box office) to doing a deal with a cinema chain and splitting the box office. I've done both and used both. Once you do this, you create value for your movie - even without star names. You can also get the interest of festivals again on the back of this activity. It might not be Berlin or Sundance but it might get you on a plane somewhere interesting and having fun and meeting other filmmakers. Your movie has played in cinemas at a time when not many movies are played in cinemas and you have the reviews that are stating that you and your film need to be considered. That is value. The question I always come back to is this: What are you looking for? Money? Recognition? Validation? Audience eyeballs? A bridge to your next well funded feature film with those highly sought movie stars? What is it? I cannot overestimate the amount of low to no budget filmmakers that become fixated on making their money back. It often becomes the number one priority - and the measure of all success. I would argue, at this point, that this should not be your goal with a low budget debut feature film. If you're spending £30k or £50k to make that first movie, then think of just how much more valuable it is than the movies made for $30m or $50m and lose 10s of millions and are considered toxic commercial duds. If you're losing £30k-£50k but helping to establish your name as a film maker for the future, then that money could be the best investment you ever make - especially if you end up helming a TV or Film project with an agent in place and big fees in your bank account. Indie filmmaking is not for the fait hearted and it's not for people who say "I don't have £50k to lose... I need to make that money back". If you want to make that money back then look at the stock market right now. Everything is on red. When the tickers start to turn green, then you will have a great chance of making money. AND THEN you can make your debut feature film and not care about losing it. In other words, it has to be money you are prepared to lose. I say that because I speak to so many filmmakers who set themselves the impossible goal of creating great art on a shoe string that then goes on to recoup and even makes a profit. That doesn't happen very often, if at all. But if you had to choose one thing, then focus on the art and how it can find an audience because that is how you will develop as a filmmaker that gives yourself a shot at a bigger time to come.