2. What is a film distributor and
what do they do ?
A film distributor is an independent company or occasionally an individual which acts as a
agent between a film production company and a film exhibitor. In the film business, the
term distribution refers to the marketing and circulation of movies in the cinema and for
home viewing. A film distributor distributes films to cinemas for the target audience to
view, this is key as the distributor does not understand the concept of the film they will not
be able to distribute to the correct companies.
3. Coffee Films
Coffee films established as a short film collective playing with camcorders in 1996, Coffee
Films incorporated in 2003 and within a year was recognized as one of Europe's leading
young production and distribution companies. Progressing to documentaries on music and
wildlife they gained critical acclaim for the film Last of the Scottish Wildcats as only the
second company to film Britain's rarest mammal. At the moment they are currently producing
a slate of exciting feature length projects including; The Death and Resurrection Show ,
Lucid a psychological drama/thriller and numerous wildlife projects. Coffee films are looking
forward to creating many more independent films for as long as possible.
Key major films they have released
• Last of the Scottish Wildcats
• The Death
• The Death and Resurrection Show
4. Caravan films
Caravan Film is a London, UK based independent film production and distribution
company, artistically helmed by award winning feature and documentary filmmakers Leon
& David Flamholc. They also make a number of films including Flip a coin a romantic
comedy, Sherdil; a family adventure film about the love between a girl and her horse and
lithivm a typical thriller.
Key major films they have released
• Flip a coin
• Lithivm
• Sherdil
5. BBC Film Network
BBC Film Network is the BBC's short film distribution showcase, screening short films
from new British Filmmakers, with four new shorts every week. The site also provides
filmmakers with tools to create online profiles and exchange tips, advice and ideas and
allows audiences to comment on and rate the films. In addition to this the BBC Film
Network provides links to all the great online that already currently exist.
Key major films they have released
• The awakening
• Perfect sense
• We need to about Kevin
6. DNA Films
DNA Films is an independent film production and distribution company set up in 1997
by Duncan Kenworthy & Andrew MacDonald. They have produced a relatively small
number of films which have been successful both commercially and critically, including:28
Weeks Later, Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal, The History Boys, The Last King of Scotland
and 28 Days Later.
DNA films have a distribution agreement with Fox Searchlight, a subsidiary of 20th
Century Fox which specialises in independent and British films. 28 Days Later is probably
their most successful since it made enough money to spin off into a franchise, with the
sequel 28 Weeks Later released in 2007 and 28 Months Later which may also be produced.
Key major films they have released
• 28 Days Later
• 28 Weeks Later
7. Vertigo films
Vertigo Films is a UK Media company founded in 2002 to create and distribute
commercially driven independent cinema. 2010 was a sensational year for Vertigo with
Europe's first 3D live action movie, street dance 3D, entering the UK Box Office charts at
No.1 beating Disney's Prince of Persia and becoming one of the most successful UK
independent films of all time as it opened around the world. In addition, Vertigo's co-
production AJAMI was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and our genre
busting MONSTERS received exceptional buzz, acclaim and a host of awards including
three British Independent Film Awards. In 2011 Vertigo produced and released a 3D
feature film of the children's franchise Horrid Henry which became a box office hit taking
£6.5 million pounds.
Key major films they have released
• Street Dance 3D
• Prince of Persia
• Horrid Henry
8. What distribution company could
we use…
Coffee films
Although coffee films have produced a feature length music documentary it is based on a
thriller and has similar elements to our film. It is also British like ours and involves death
which is a code and convention of our teen horror film. As coffee films is a well established
distribution company we could use it for our film as they are interested in young production
companies such as ourselves. At the moment they are working on a thriller drama sot they
may not be interested in our film. On the other hand as they are working on a thriller they
may be interested in doing a horror film as it would be something different/ a challenge for
them. A poster of their thriller documentary The Death and Resurrection Show is below
9. Caravan films
Whereas the production and distribution company Caravan films have actually made a
number of films from a wide range of genres one of which being a typical thriller so they
may want to broaden their horizon and produce our teen horror film. Below is a number of
posters of the film flip a coin of a romantic comedy although it is of a different genre the
budget was similar to ours and it is considered a British film when marked against the
criteria.
The three
posters used to
help distribute
the film
BBC film Network
BBC film network is another production company that I did research on after looking at
their feature films I found that their production and distribution company’s films produced
and distributed were rather short so we would not be able to use them to create a hour
length film. On the other hand it would be good to upload our opening two minutes so
others can comment on what they have seen and exchange ideas that may help us improve
the whole film.
10. DNA films
DNA film’s is one of the company's I found that really caught my attention as it has made a
number of films including 28 days later and 28 months later that involved zombies which is
a sub genre of our film inhumane. Also they are both about people, not necessarily
teenagers, surviving from the zombies; this follows the concept of our film and I feel that it
would be the best production company to use. Futhermore DNA films is a British
independent film company which is one of our main criteria's as we are producing a no
budget British film’s. Below is a poster of both the films 28 days later and 28 months later.
The posters of the film 28
weeks later and 28 Months
Later as 28 months later is
the sequel to 28 weeks later
the posters follow a similar
layout colour scheme and
concept
Vertigo films
Vertigo films would be a could company to distribute our film as it would be shown in
independent cinemas. However this means that the film would not be mainstream so it may
not meet the audiences expectations. On the other hand they are use to producing films that
are British however these have been based on well known concepts and have given been in
3D.This would be unrealistic in our case as we would be distributing a no budget British
film that has less brand awareness.
11. Also the genres of film they have created have been extremely different from our teen horror;
inhumane. From looking at the research I have conducted it is clear that this distribution
company would not be a good idea as the pros out weigh the cons in this particular case.
3 different posters
displaying/promoting
the film Street Dance
3D
My opinion of the most appropriate institution
From looking at different distribution companies it has become apparent that the most
useful distribution company would be DNA films this is due to a number of reasons firstly,
they have produced films that have a similar concept/storyline to ours and follow the same
genre and would most likely to be willing to work with our sub genre of teen. In addition to
this their major film successes have been predominately British would follows our brief of
producing a no budget British film. I believe that if Vertigo films distributed our film there
would be a fairly good chance of it being great film and maybe even better than what we
expect.
