A lot of people have been asking how we’re marketing THE FOURTH WORLD now that it’s done. Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve been up to and are doing right now:

1. Europe and Asia–We’re fortunate to be in partnership with Journeyman Pictures out of the UK. Journeyman has a long record of marketing films like ours to the European/Asian market. These parts of the world have a bigger appetite for documentary film than the US does. Journeyman took the film to Cannes, France in May and we hope to see television broadcast deals start to develop in the months to come (NEWS FLASH: THE FOURTH WORLD has a deal with Portuguese TV.)

2. Digital Aggregation–This entire market was non-existent just a few years ago, but now it’s a primary source of sharing films around the world. We’re very happy to be partnering with Nelson Madison Films out of Los Angeles in this brave new world of digital marketing. What this firm does is take a film like THE FOURTH WORLD and do all the work of getting it on iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, Snag Films and more. Since very very few films ever get theatrical release (the marketing alone costs millions to get your film into theatres and have a reasonable return), this is an incredible way to gain a worldwide audience. An independent film like ours is “out there” right next to the Spielbergs and Camerons of the world. We’re excited to work with this group.

3. Film Festivals–This is my domain for the year. Getting THE FOURTH WORLD into the festival circuit has been nothing but exciting and fun! Our Awards Page shows how well the film has been doing, but a few highlights include getting accepted into the Tenerife International Film Festival, taking the “Award of Excellence” from the Indie Fest, winning not one but two Telly Awards (Documentary and Cinematography) and many more. We’re playing in Des Moines, Kansas City, Jakarta Indonesia, Salento Italy, Calgary Alberta and many more places in the months to come. We still have more than 50 festivals to hear from yet.
The value of festivals is that they help generate awareness and buzz in various parts of the country and world. Winning those little laurel wreaths you see on posters and websites gives people confidence that the film is worthwhile when they’re making a decision to purchase a DVD or download it from Google Play or iTunes. The personal benefit for me is the ability to see what other independent film makers are doing, and to meet these great people and learn from them and what they are doing.