Distribution : 5 Hidden Mistakes That Are Secretly Killing Your Film’s Distribution and how to fix them by Pavel Starikin

Pavel Starikin

5 Hidden Mistakes That Are Secretly Killing Your Film’s Distribution and how to fix them

You spent years making a film that matters.

You believed in it. Maybe you still do.

But now… silence.

No festivals. No sales. No audience. Just a void.

You’re not alone, and it’s not because your film is bad.

We see this all the time.

Filmmakers submit powerful stories that no one watches…

because of a few hidden mistakes they didn’t even know they were making.

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Pavel Starikin. I think your post might've been cut off.

E Langley

Maybe one of the hidden mistakes is not finishing the film.

Jon Shallit

I sent you a trailer to SETESH. To your listed email.

Randall Scott White

Yes - listing the mistakes would be great! Even as a Mod, I would like to know the list! My own film is stuck in that limbo.... $200K short of distribution with a plan, but all financing options exhausted. So how do you make $$$ for a film when you have no more equity to sell? Sponsorships seem like a normal, easy-to-understand path to ROI for sponsors if financing or Minimum Guarantees are out of the picture. I would post a link to my next play but don't ant to be self-promoting.

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth

What are the 5 Hidden Mistakes? You didn't tell us. Please share was there's many that wish to know.

Philip David Lee

Here's a mistake. Between the filming of the first shot and having a release date, the average turnaround time is 18 months. 18 months! That's 540 Days! If you release a 2 minute video a day, that's 1080 minutes of promotional material to tell the world about your film. That is 18 hours of promotional material. If after 18 hours of promotional material, you can't get at least 5 million people interested in seeing your film, well you can draw your own conclusions. This is relatively free marketing. Is a distribution company going to offer you 18 hours of free promotion? They will try and soak you for every cent they can get and wind up costing you anywhere from $16-$20 per person to try and convince the general audience to buy a $10.78 ticket without any guarantees as to how many pairs of eyes they have reached or how many people they convinced to go and see your film.

You don't need 5 Hidden Mistakes. You just need to be aware of this 1 obvious mistake., but hey, don't believe me. If you, who knows your project inside and out, cannot get the public interested in seeing the hard work you, your actors and your crew put into your project of love sweat and tears, then don't expect a group of strangers, that only want you to overspend on advertising techniques that no longer work, to break their backs for you.

Jon Shallit

Philip has made commercially successful films, does his homework, and KNOWS what he is talking about! PLEASE LISTEN TO HIM!!!!!!!!!

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