Distribution Case Study

MICHELLE MOWER Imagination Worldwide Distributor International Sales Agent ORLY RAVID The Film Collaborative/MSK Festival/Theatrical Distribution MICHAEL CUOMO Gran Fallon MYRIAM SCHROETER Stedfast Productions Producer Co-Producer

iwwmedia.com

thefilmcollaborative.org

TRAILER https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thelightofthemoon

PRODUCTION

Focused on low-budget filmmaking to help ensure recoupment to investors Decision to cast TV stars in lead and strong supporting roles for creative and commercial relevance

FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION

Festivals World Premiere and timing LOTM had a great festival run For Film Festivals, there are two peaks: Immediately following SXSW in late March until June then things go quiet in the summer after Toronto, explodes again until the holidays Some opportunities were missed leading up to SXSW to book additional Spring festivals

Festivals - Niches Although niche is a bad word for many distributors, for festivals, the more niche a film is, the better it will do on the festival circuit LOTM: proved to be weaker than anticipated on Latino/a niche (did not attract a lot of Latino/a interest), really only women niche ($8K gross) Compare with another SXSW title, Signature Move: Pakistani, South Asian, Muslim, Lesbian, Comedy did much better on festival circuit, although some would say it is not as strong a film ($48K gross)

ARTWORK DEVELOPMENT

PARTNERSHIPS FOR THEATRICAL RELEASE

10 Q&As in NYC with UN Women Celebrity support from Maria Cuomo Cole, Sara Bareilles, Emmy Rossum and cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Clif / Luna premiere sponsorship to help with P+A costs

TALENT ENGAGEMENT IN PUBLICITY FOR THEATRICAL RELEASE

Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David and Conrad Ricamora supporting the NY/LA releasing in person & online Stephanie Beatriz and Michael Stahl-David doing press days and interviews (often from TV sets) to bolster the release Michael Stahl-David leading a street team of volunteers postering in NY/LA

#METOO #LISTENUP

#MeToo bolstered features press support how we handled those who accused us of exploiting / trying to profit from a movement

PUBLICITY FOR THEATRICAL

wallmanpr.com falcoink.com

97% as of 3/12/18 https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_light_of_the_moon

GRASSROOTS FOR THEATRICAL RELEASE

Community Organizations Reached out to women & film organizations, as well as women s domestic abuse and rape crisis centers in the greater Los Angeles area. Invited heads of organization to the premiere so they would blast about theatrical release to their membership (* indicates offered support) Women In Film* LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes * City of West Hollywood, Event and Film Services Division * La Femme Film Festival * Alliance of Women Directors * Peace Over Violence The Westside Domestic Violence Network* Los Angeles Pierce College, Women s Center Cal State Los Angeles Student Union Los Angeles National Association of Professional Women South Bay Cares Cal State Fullerton Women s Center RAINN YWCA Los Angeles, Sexual Assault Crisis Services Los Angeles Women s Theatre Project East Los Angeles Women s Center Los Angeles Asian Pacific Women s Center

Community Organizations (Cont d) CLIF Bar sponsored 10 student tickets for the LA premiere. We reached out to the following groups at Santa Monica College: Communications Department Counseling Department Film Club Film Production Department Intersectional Feminist Club Title IX Compliance Office

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THEATRICAL RELEASE

Smarthouse Creative offers marketing, social media, and publicity services for creative entrepreneurs, arts organizations, independent filmmakers, and small business owners. smarthousecreative.com

NYC theatrical run ad metrics Theatrical trailer viewed more than 150,000 times $0.70/click to IFC ticketing page

NYC theatrical run FB stats Peak reach and engagement on opening weekend

Multiple sold-out screenings leading to extended run Significant engagement and ROI via Instagram ads Worked closely with PR team to boost and extend reach of cast/crew interviews and positive film reviews Paid social used to spark and extend organic audience engagement

Creative examples

http://smarthouse-creative.herokuapp.com

THEATRICAL

#ENDRAPECULTURE

Date Venue Location November 1 9, 2017 IFC Center New York, NY November 16-23, 2017 Monica Laemmle Santa Monica, CA November 24-30, 2017 Grand Illusion Cinema Seattle, WA November 25-26, 2017 Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park, TX December 8-15, 2017 Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park, TX December 8 14, 2017 AMC Streets of Woodfield 20 Schaumburg, IL December 8-14, 2017 AMC Sunset Place 24 South Miami, FL December 10, 2018 Alamo Drafthouse Winchester, VA January 5, 2018 Real Art Ways Hartford, CT February 9 15, 2018 Pickford Film Center Bellingham, WA February 20, 2018 Liberty Theatre Camas, WA February 23, 2018 DKA Columbia University New York, NY February 24, 2018 Palace Central Sydney, Australia March 30, 2018 Carbon Arc Theater Nova Scotia, Canada April 11, 2018 State Theater Modesto, CA April 23, 2018 Alamo Drafthouse Winchester, VA

EDUCATIONAL

New Balloon services Educational Distribution newballoon.com

Over 500 schools approached Confirmed screenings: Aquinas College - Grand Rapids, MI College of William and Mary - Williamsburg, VA California State University - Chico - Chico, CA Loyola University, New Orleans - New Orleans, LI New York University - New York, NY Northwestern University - Evanston, IL Reed College - Portland, OR Sarah Lawrence University - New York, NY University of Prince Edward Island - Canada University of Waterloo - Waterloo, ON, Canada University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee - Milwaukee, WI California State Polytechnic University, Pomona - Pomona, CA California State University - Long Beach Colorado Women s College - Denver, CO Columbia University Rhode Island College - Providence, RI University of Michigan Another 66 expressed interest, but screenings not yet confirmed

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video service for public libraries and educational institutions that provides kanopy.com

PROMOTION FOR DIGITAL RELEASE

Bunker 15 specializes in production, promotion, and distribution of Independent Narrative and Documentary Films online, VOD, and theatrical. Bunker15.com

Bunker 15 Films uses an automated promotional engine to find Influencers and Critics that make the biggest impact films. Press and exposure is critical to all films but traditional publicist methods are labor-intensive, relationship-intensive, limited in scope and $$ expensive. This project focused on Rotten Tomatoes critics. Bunker 15's technical backbone reached hundreds of RT critics, esp. groups that don't require a local theater run.

Challenges: Limited Theatrical run Festival run already completed Advantages: Topical subject matter SXSW Audience Winner

Screeners: 71 Results Interviews, Cast/Director Chicago Tribune, Australian Film Ink, A Beautiful Perspective Reviews Common Sense Media, The Mary Sue, Black Girl Nerds, ScreenRant, The Arts Desk, The National (UAE), TonyMacklin.net, El antepenúltimo mohicano, Movie Boeuf, Blu-ray.com, Film Journal International, The Quiet Us VOD Pick of the Week / Month LA Times, AVClub / The Onion

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DIGITAL RELEASE

Re-Boot Social Campaign by Charles Rice/Hybrid Cinema Hybrid Cinema works with filmmakers, content creators, and production companies to build or expand their fanbase for their work s release. HybridCinema.com

Goals Hybrid Cinema was brought in to take over social media campaign for THE LIGHT OF THE MOON after its theatrical release with an eye to the VOD launch Filmmakers wanted to build on the previous results on the campaign They wanted even more engagement and increased numbers They wanted to engage a male demographic along with expansion of the already established female demo They wanted to refocus their goals to create a conversation around the message of the film rather than just improving numbers Because an ad budget wasn t available for the first month of our take over of the campaign, we had to create opportunities for organic growth

Tactics 1. We increased the volume of posting and made the schedule more consistent 2. Launched Facebook and Instagram lives with the cast, key crew members, sexual assault advocates, and influencers a. Fans were able to ask questions and share experiences b. Fans tagged male friends and allies 3. We also focused on demographics of the actors: a. Actors own fanbases and the fanbases of their shows: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Narcos, How To Get Away With Murder b. Niche: Women, women filmmakers, women of color, LGBTQ 4. More importantly we created a broader story focusing on the message of the film not just screenings Part 1: a. Posts consisted of articles on sexual assault and women s rights/equality b. This created a high level of engagement on social media thus a community formed under the film s message

Tactics (cont d) Focusing on broader message part 2: To engage men we launched the #LetsListen campaign o Highlighted Theme: Many men aren t sure how to approach the topic of assault and rape with victims of these crimes This is portrayed throughout the film with Michael Stahl-David's character. o This mini-campaign suggested to men that sometimes the best thing they can do to help is to listen Men should be supportive of the women in their lives who have experienced sexual assault but not try and fix them o This stressed the importance of men being a part of the larger conversation: It will take both men and women to end rape culture and that it can t be a one sided crusade o Collaborated with film team to create graphics for these campaigns

Results Overall, increased organic growth on the page including Likes, Click-through and Reach Filmmaking team very happy with the engagement around the campaign Got great traction for the #LetsListen campaign

DIGITAL DVD

TVOD 1/2/18 DVD 1/9/18

itunes January 2, 2018

SVOD 2/28/18 Audience Award Winner, U.S. Narrative In Competition US $100K *plus enhanced rev share in U.S.

Career Boosts Set up higher level meetings for both development and production Land future directing work in television and film