CANNES, FRANCE — IndieFlix CEO Scilla Andreen launched today an international tour to introduce new distribution models for independent films, highlighting her company’s premium packaging of Andrew Robinson’s “April Showers,” based on the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.
For the film, IndieFlix has identified a core audience segment of 30 million U.S. moviegoers and is providing them not only with the most number of ways to view it, but also with the tools to use the movie as a platform for social change.
The campaign is one of a series of release stages, carefully sequenced to build audience influence.
Rather than compete headlong against Hollywood studio films in the entertainment section of major newspapers, “April Showers” made its debut instead as part of a national conversation on the future of learning in America. In that context, the broadcast and print media as a national news item even before its initial theatrical release covered Robinson’s story as a survivor of the Columbine shootings. As a result, Robinson quickly became a sought-after commentator and discussion leader.
Meanwhile, IndieFlix mounted a comprehensive online distribution campaign hot on the heels of the theatrical engagements. Working with a network of the biggest names in online delivery, IndieFlix was able to offer “April Showers” directly to moviegoers across all platforms.
However, the distributor’s real focus was on coordinating this stage of the release with a range of social networking strategies. This effort brought in the highest-quality feedback from the most influential audience segments. At this point, it became obvious that “April Showers” had connected with an audience ready to champion the film in settings where it would have the greatest impact, namely, in schools and with community groups.
To create a package that would redefine educational distribution, IndieFlix teamed up with the April Showers Foundation, created by Robinson and the film’s producers, and with School Safety Partners, a Denver organization with deep ties with school administrators and educational funding sources. Together, they reached out to national and international experts in student development and school safety, and were greeted with an outpouring of resources that could be added to the school edition of “April Showers.”
This multiplied the distribution possibilities. IndieFlix is now able to offer greater value to organizational buyers of the film, who typically pay a premium license fee. In addition, the package has generated cause marketing opportunities for corporate sponsors, and discussions are underway to provide a sponsored distribution of the “April Showers” educational edition to every school in the United States.
As Andreen oversees a state-by-state educational rollout, she expects that this stage of distribution will lead not only to broader DVD and Blu-ray distribution, but also to broadcast airings of the film that are treated as must-see television events.
Her worldwide tour to introduce this distribution model to the independent film and video community includes visits to dozens of film festivals and appearances at financing conferences. Filmmakers interested in learning more are encouraged to visit IndieFlix.com, which currently represents more than 2000 titles.
