Peter Broderick has just returned from the Sundance Film Festival.
The quality of both the films and the deal-making in the Documentary category made a big impression on this veteran distribution strategist.
Peter shares his Sundance Takeaways, including:
- 10-12 docs were at the “phenomenal” quality level;
- The impact of Netflix on the growing audience for documentary film;
- The excitement over Audience Award winner “Knock Down The House” with the charismatic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez;
- And the significant presence of women among the finalists and award–winners.
We wrapped with a discussion of the advantages of the hybrid distribution strategy in which rights are parsed across the strongest distributors rather than assigned to a single player.
Listen to the Podcast
Peter Broderick
More Reading
- Read Peter’s reports and subscribe to his Distribution Bulletin at www.peterbroderick.com.
- And my recent posts:
- Sundance and the Single Documentary Economy: The $1.3 Billion Cost of Missing Out
- Sundance Selections 2019: What are the Odds for Documentaries?
- The Sundance Anti-Case Study and podcast: When “The Cleaners” came to Sundance from Berlin in 2018 and Netflix wasn’t buying.
Sundance Documentary Competition Winners
U.S.
Grand Jury Prize Award: One Child Nation, directed by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
Audience Award: Knock Down the House, directed by Rachel Lears
Directing Award: American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency: Always in Season, directed by Jacqueline Olive
Special Jury Award for an Emerging Filmmaker: Jawline, directed by Liza Mandelup
Special Jury Award for Editing: Apollo 11, edited by Todd Douglas Miller
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Midnight Family, cinematographer Luke Lorentzen
WORLD CINEMA
Grand Jury Prize: Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
Audience Award: Sea of Shadows, directed by Richard Ladkani
Directing Award: Cold Case Hammarskjold, directed by Mads Brugger
Special Jury Award for No Borders: Midnight Traveler, directed by Hassan Fazzili
Special Jury Award for Impact for Change: Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Honeyland,cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma
About Peter Broderick
Peter Broderick is President of Paradigm Consulting, which helps filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audience, and revenues.
In addition to advising on sales and marketing, Paradigm Consulting specializes in state-of-the-art distribution techniques—including innovative theatrical service deals, hybrid video strategies (mixing retail and direct sales online), and new approaches to global distribution.
Broderick has written articles for Scientific American, The New York Times, and The Economist.
His seminal article, “Maximizing Distribution,” has been reprinted in publications around the world. His reports, “Welcome to the New World of Distribution” and “Declaration of Independence” are concise guides to the latest distribution strategies.
