They go unnoticed, or almost. However, they are essential players in the cultural environment. The duty offers a series of portraits of behind-the-scenes professions, through the confidences of professionals who practice them or who have already practiced them. Today: film distributors.
December 24, 2022. It’s Christmas Eve, but for theater operators and film distributors, it’s also one of the most lucrative times of the year. With the release ofAvatar: The Way of Water and the return to normal life after the pandemic, everyone is expecting record attendance in cinemas. Particularly Damien Detcheberry, director of distribution at Métropole Films. However, he does not manage the release ofAvatarbut rather that ofErnest and Celestine. The journey to Charabiethe second installment of a French animated franchise.
But that day, the weather was playing tricks on Quebec: it was one of the worst snowstorms in years. “The streets were impassable, no one was leaving their homes,” said the distributor. “We had released the film the day before, on Friday the 23rd, and the following Monday, only one screen was still showing the film in Montreal.”
This seemingly innocuous story reveals the random nature of Mr. Detcheberry’s profession. “Random is the word,” he tells us repeatedly. First, there are the unexpected events like the weather, which distributors have to deal with and which can completely change the trajectory of a film. But there is also the sometimes fortuitous nature of meetings between distributors and films, whether at festivals or during informal discussions with producers.
However, the cinephile gaze of distributors exerts a great influence, from production to distribution.
A competitive market
In the case of a blockbuster or a major arthouse film, it is usually an international seller who gives the highest-bidding distributors the rights to the film that he first bought from the producers. This helps to guarantee the inflow of funds that can be used to close the production budget. In other words, it is mainly the distributors’ money, calculated according to the risks they can afford to take, that finances most films.
Samuel Pagé-Lemay is responsible for programming and acquisitions at Maison 4:3, one of the main distributors of Quebec auteur films, which has notably handled Baby sitter or even of Rojek. He explains that the operation is similar here: “SODEC [Société de développement des entreprises culturelles] and Telefilm Canada even require that certain films already have a distributor in order to be financed. Producers will therefore partner with the highest bidder and the one who is best suited for the release they are aiming for. Some have better expertise in getting noticed at festivals and in small theatres, while others are better suited to DVD and video on demand.
The distributors’ duties may vary depending on the type of film they are responsible for. But all of them plan the conditions of releases and manage marketing strategies, media relations and revenue distribution. Because of the many factors that influence a film’s success — and they are not limited to the weather — the task can be complex.
“The release date is one of the most important,” says Samuel Pagé-Lemay. “It can be very difficult to face the competition. When a Marvel film hits theaters, it will monopolize the best multiplex theaters. All sorts of surprises can also happen. While we were releasing the animated film The Legend of the Butterflyfor example, the Taylor Swift concert film came at the last minute. It was much more difficult than expected for us.”
Competition also affects the rights acquisition process. Métropole Films, which mainly distributes foreign arthouse films, spots several of them at festivals. “In addition to the films we buy after reading the script or following agreements with producers, we discover some every year at Cannes, Berlin and Toronto,” says Damien Detcheberry. “But in Quebec, we have a lot of distributors, and a film market that remains relatively small compared to countries like France. It’s very competitive.”
From the next generation
This does not, however, prevent younger people from getting into the field today. William Gagnon and Olivia Courchesne have just started Ritual Films, and the release of the first film in their catalog, Only the River Flowsis scheduled for this summer. “We were seeing a disengagement on the part of some distributors with regard to international cinema,” says William Gagnon. The pandemic has also hurt many of them. In Quebec, the end of Films Séville left gaping holes: we wanted to do something and promote films from smaller markets, outside the big studios.”
Under the Quebec Cinema Act, distributors who want to operate in the province must be based here, with a few exceptions. The law is intended to protect small local players from American giants. However, nothing prevents Quebec distributors from expanding their activities elsewhere. If most don’t do so, explains Mr. Detcheberry, it’s mainly due to a lack of resources.
But it becomes more realistic for relatively modest independent film releases, such as those orchestrated by Ritual Films. “We’re going to present Only the River Flows in at least 12 independent Canadian cinemas this summer. The reception has been really positive so far,” explains Olivia Courchesne.
All distributors to whom The duty has spoken say it: the trust of cinema programmers is essential to the success of distribution. “We firmly believe that the survival of a certain cinema depends on our ability to make people want to give it a chance,” adds William Gagnon. “And it’s very stimulating to be able to go looking for favorites that we want to present everywhere in Canada.”