BFI STUDY DAY

I attended a study day at the British Film Institute as part of my research into distribution. The day was presented by Matthew Hall, who had invited Robin Gutch, Senior Executive Producer at Warp Films, to talk about the kinds of films that Warp handled and how they marketed them. 

Robin Gutch also introduced his film '71 (directed by Yann Demange, 2015) and talked about how he defined its target audience, what its appeal is its audience and how Warp attracted and addressed them. We learned that, although '71 is about the Troubles in N. Ireland, the film's wider relevance means it has universal appeal, as it shows a community torn apart and young men being radicalized, with the central character as cannon fodder in a situation in which young people are caught up and sucked deeper and deeper into trouble, towards death. It was therefore marketed to an audience who didn't have to be interested in N. Ireland and was released on between 80-150 screens where it played well. It launched at  ’71 was developed by Film4 with the assistance of the Northern Ireland Screen Commission. 

The film was financed by Film4, the BFI, Creative Scotland and Screen Yorkshire and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2014, at Telluride Film Festival as well as at Berlin and Toronto, occasions for distributors to watch films and decide which they would like to handle. The film grossed about £1 million worldwide (source: BoxOffice Mojo) with jack O'Connell winning EE's Rising Star award at the Baftas and nine nominations. With Studio Canal, it was distributed via VOD and DVD. It is distributed, for example, on iTunes to view or download, and in DVD and Bluray format.

At the BFI study day, we were also challenged to think analytically about what UK and US/international audiences would like about a selection of other films and the distribution strategies employed to address their target audiences, such as Monsters, The Children, Streetdance 3D, Dead Men's Shoes, Benny and the Bull, It's All Gone Pete Tong, Aphex Twin Come to Daddy, Kingsman, A Royal Night Out, The Selfish Giant, The Woman in Black and One Day, discussing whether we would place films in the arthouse, multiplex or crossover /prestige category. We also studied issues relating to distribution, marketing, cross media synergy and exchange in a selection of Warp and Vertigo films