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LAST November inside a conference room at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, a film consultant named Peter Broderick was doing his best to foment a revolution. Mr. Broderick, who helps filmmakers find their way into the marketplace, was spreading the word on an Internet-era approach to releasing movies that he believes empowers filmmakers without impoverishing them economically or emotionally. Mr. Broderick divides distribution into the Old World and New, infusing his PowerPoint presentation with insurgent rhetoric. He has written a “declaration of independence” for filmmakers that — as he did that afternoon — he reads while wearing a tricorn hat.
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Festival exposure doesn’t guarantee a film’s success in the marketplace, explained former Sundance Film Festival chief Geoff Gilmore today in Manhattan. Since his days with Robert Redford’s Utah event the business of festivals has evolved, according to Gilmore. Now, he’s in New York City alongside Robert De Niro as a brash, relatively young festival expands and redefines itself.
While a fest like the Tribeca Film Festival has primarily focused on showcasing films and trying to match filmmakers with buyers, this week the event takes a step in a new direction, hoping to help filmmakers monetize their movies by acquiring and releasing them on new digital platforms created by festival organizers.
