Category Archives: Coming Soon

Your 2026 Roadmap to Success

Posted on by
Reply

Ah! It’s a new year! 2026! How to not only survive, but to thrive? You need a plan.

Elliot Grove of Raindance offers 7 Ways Writers, Directors, Actors & Producers Can Actually Survive 2026.

You should read his post yourself but here’s the TLDR:

  1. Build an Audience Before You Need One
  2. Create Assets, Not Single Projects
  3. Use AI as a Lever — Not a Crutch or a Threat
  4. Diversify Your Income Into Three Lanes
  5. Work in Public — and Make Repetition Your Religion
  6. Build Collaborative Triangles — Not Industry Contacts
  7. Develop the 7 Soft Skills That Will Matter More Than Talent

He concludes with this:

“The Good News: 2026 Favors the Brave

  • Yes, the industry is shifting.
  • Yes, synthetic performers exist.
  • Yes, freelancers are absorbing the shocks.
  • Yes, budgets are a rollercoaster.

But there has never been a better time to be an independent filmmaker.

  • Never easier to reach audiences.
  • Never easier to build IP.
  • Never easier to experiment.
  • Never easier to collaborate globally.
  • Never easier to launch a career without asking permission.”

My take: if you want a roadmap to success in these turbulent times, Elliot’s advice is very much worth considering. Bonne chance!

 

Database of Canadian Feature Films

Posted on by
1

Do you own the rights to a Canadian feature film? If so, you should add it to the new Canadian Movie Database.

Created by the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), the database powers a new B2B platform that connects Canadian independent cinemas with film distributors or rights holders, offering curated films by genre or theme.

This new digital marketplace is vital for the expanding ecosystem of independent Canadian film exhibition, providing access to more topical content to the film-going community.

My take: finally a way for all those movies made in Canada to appeal directly to Canadian cinemas and hence to Canadian viewers. You’ve made a feature, did the festival circuit and came this close to a distribution deal. Now you can post your film on this database and reach out to appropriate screens directly. Of course, your chances of getting a booking increase if you give the theatre a great reason to book: the theme of your film is suddenly topical, one of your actors breaks big, your genre film matches the calendar (think Valentines, Halloween, Christmas, etc.) Or you band together with other local filmmakers and offer “The Victoria New Wave” package of movies, for instance. The Canadian Movie Database is a great way to get Canadian films in front of Canadian audiences.

The new age of cinema begins

Posted on by
Reply

Dana Harris-Bridson reports in IndieWire on Creator Camp and the Three-Picture Theatrical Deal: Attend Is Betting the Internet Can Fill Movie Screens.

She writes, “The Austin-based creator collective distribution arm, Camp Studios, signed a three-picture theatrical deal with Attend Theatrical Marketplace, the Fithian Group company that connects filmmakers directly with movie theaters, streamlining the process of booking and releasing films.”

“The real bet is if creators already know their audience, why can’t that audience show up to a cinema?”

The first test is indie rom-com Two Sleepy People.

My take: I’ve been waiting for this moment for twenty years, ever since video first started appearing on the Internet.

This is much more than a story about a distributor picking up a movie for distribution; it’s tentative proof of a new and emerging theatrical distribution model that will replace the crumbling one.

The big difference to me is the importance of Audience. In the Legacy Model, it was simply assumed that the audience would show up if enough money was spent on marketing. In the New Model, online creators have ongoing relationships with their audiences before making their movies and then rely on them to manifest local screenings on demand through critical mass.

In simple terms:

OLD = Legacy Creator -> Movie -> Distributor -> Cinemas -> Audience.

NEW = Online Creator -> Audience -> Movie -> Distributor -> Audience -> Cinemas.

Best wishes to Attend and Creator Camp!

When is a Film a Movie?

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Follows asks the question, “Which types of features films are called ‘films’, and which are called ‘movies’?”

His analysis reveals that audiences tend to call all films movies, with Action, Adventure and Sci-Fi genres the most likely to be “movies.”

Whereas, audiences only tend to call War, History and Biography genres “films,” with all others more likely to be “movies.”

His conclusion:

“We could say that the more fun a genre appears to be, the greater chance it has to be a movie.”

My take: no real surprise here; audiences want to be entertained. A good story, well told. Another consideration is that almost no-one actually films on film anymore.

Rio and friends step up to save Vancouver’s Park Theatre

Posted on by
Reply

Part of Vancouver’s film history has been saved by Corinne Lea of the Rio Theatre and a group of private investors, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Corinne Lea (@corinne_riotheatre)

From her statement:

“The Rio Theatre is very excited by the opportunity to revive Vancouver’s historic, art-deco Park Theatre in the beloved Cambie Village neighbourhood. We are grateful for the support of this impressive group of film industry professionals, and could not do this without them! After almost two decades of rocking the Rio, we look forward to this expansion, and bringing the same fun, energy and passion to a new location.”

Among the investors are:

  1. Chris Ferguson
  2. Osgood Perkins
  3. Mike Flanagan
  4. Sean Baker
  5. Samantha Quan
  6. Zach Lipovsky
  7. Finn Wolfhard
  8. Graham Fortin
  9. Eugenio Battaglia
  10. Andy Levine
  11. Jill Orsten
  12. Christina Bulbrook

My take: I applaud this effort because local control of movie screens is critical for a truly independent national cinema.

Hollywood vs. Tilly Norwood

Posted on by
Reply

Lily Ford of The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Creator of AI Actress Tilly Norwood Responds to Backlash: “She Is Not a Replacement for a Human Being”.

A new AI-generated actress named Tilly Norwood has caused a stir in Hollywood, with her creator, Eline Van der Velden of the company Particle6, claiming talent agencies are interested in signing her.

The news has sparked a fiery backlash from human actors, who see the creation as a threat to their livelihoods and the integrity of their craft.

In a response on Instagram, Van der Velden defended Tilly as a work of art and a new creative tool, not a replacement for human performers.

“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work—a piece of art.”

Van der Velden argued that AI characters should be judged as their own genre, much like animation, puppetry or CGI, and could coexist with traditional acting.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), however, disagrees, stating, “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program.”

My take: Still less robotic than some of the Transformers cast.

 

Netflix confirms 14 day theatrical run for Knives Out 3

Posted on by
Reply

Jack Dunn in Variety reveals that ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Sets Two-Week Theatrical Release Before Netflix Rollout.

The third instalment in the ensemble mystery franchise featuring Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc will screen in selected theatres globally for 14 days starting November 26 before streaming on Netflix on December 12, 2025.

In 2022, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” played in 600 cinemas for one week one month before streaming.

My take: kudos to Rian Johnson for putting this in his Netflix contract. Could this become their new norm, after Netflix’s success with its two-day KPop Demon Hunter theatrical release?

Advice for Indie Filmmakers from Stephen Follows

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Follows offers Practical advice for indie directors who want to keep making films.

Here are the topics he discusses:

  1. Stay flexible and keep moving
  2. Start small but start now
  3. Think like a micro-budget filmmaker
  4. You need to create your own opportunities
  5. Learn by doing everything
  6. Understand where indie films truly live
  7. Consider if film school is for you
  8. You never know what an opportunity looks like
  9. Find your thing
  10. Learn what people want to watch
  11. Build the right team
  12. Stay ahead of the game
  13. Keep going, no matter what

I particularly like this:

“The filmmakers who get noticed are the ones who don’t wait for permission. They write, shoot, and edit their own work. Even a no-budget short is better than waiting for the perfect offer that may never come.”

My take: good advice! TL;DR? Just do it.

Funding + Screening, together now

Posted on by
Reply

Brian Welk reports on IndieWire that From Film Funding to Distribution, This Partnership Gives You Control: ‘Anyone Can Do This’.

The partnership in question is between Seed&Spark and Kinema.

Unlike other crowdfunding platforms Seed&Spark is purpose-built for film & TV projects. They have a phenomenal 82% success rate.

“Kinema is a tech platform that enables non-theatrical exhibition — what you may call grassroots screening tours — of films in person and online. We make it easy and rewarding for anyone, anywhere to organize moving showings and share in the proceeds.”

Brian states:

“Those who fund programs on Seed&Spark get a dedicated Kinema account manager and custom distribution consultations. Fees are waived for filmmakers with over 500 followers or over 1,000 campaign backers.”

But hey, if you want to DIY, at least check out their free online resource The Distribution Playbook.

My take: well worth further investigation!

Indie TV: self-financing your own series

Posted on by
Reply

Elaine Low writes on The Ankler that Indie TV is a viable model to self-finance shows.

She writes:

“In Park City for the (Sundance) festival is Cooper Raiff, the writer and director of Cha Cha Real Smooth, which just three years ago was a festival competition title that got snapped up by Apple TV+ for $15 million. This year, he’s shopping Hal & Harper — not an indie film, which would be a tough enough sell in 2025, but rather an independently financed TV series, whose path is even less clear.”

Zack Sharf quotes Raiff on making Hal & Harper in Variety as saying:

“(Selling your second movie for $15 million to Apple) makes you too confident. Because of that deal, I thought, ‘Let’s just do it with television.’ That’s what I told everyone. We’re really braving the storm with the series. ‘Cha Cha’ was sold on the backs of so many indie movies. With this, we’re trying to sell this show… so it has to be this undeniable thing to these streamers and these networks. But it made me too confident.”

See the Collider review.

Wikipedia info.

My take: this seems extremely risky, unless your budget is practically zero, you have all the locations, and everyone is volunteering their time. Or, you’ve made so much, you need write-offs? I mean it’s a great way to keep total creative control — until Season Two, that is.