Mars Verrone
Producer
Distribution (Nov. 21)
2024Crucial conversations about distribution are happening in the industry and while the answers are still elusive, maybe “we are who we’ve been waiting for.” Case studies using outside-the-box techniques and strategy will inspire and drive you forward. These discussions will challenge conventional thinking and encourage innovative approaches to distribution. By examining successful examples, you’ll gain practical insights and motivation to push the boundaries of your own process.
In the Festival Lounge, the day starts with Breakfast (9-10AM) hosted by community partner Video Consortium and ends with a Happy Hour (4:30-5:30PM).
10-11:15AM
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting to Sell
With streaming dominating the revenue streams for documentaries these days, and with streamers nearly universally operated by large corporations, how do you plan for the release of your film when your film involves one such corporation? The film team behind Union was elated to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, but they knew they would have a different road ahead than other films premiering there. Join producers Mars Verrone and Samantha Curley, director Stephen Maing, impact producer Eliza Licht and distribution consultant Michael Tuckman as they chat with Brian Newman of Sub-Genre Media about devising an alternative distribution plan before coming to market.
Mars Verrone
Producer
Mars Verrone is a filmmaker, musician, and educator from Los Angeles, CA. Their first feature as producer, Union (dir. Stephen Maing & Brett Story), premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and won a special jury prize. They are a Sundance Producers Fellow, NBC Original Voices Artist Mentor and Fellow, Producers Guild of America Fellow, and Brown Girls Doc Mafia Fellow.
Brian Newman
Principal, Sub-Genre
Brian Newman
Principal, Sub-Genre
Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on content strategy, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. Current and former clients include: The Climate Pledge (Amazon), GoDaddy, IBM, New York Times, Oatly, Patagonia, Purina, REI, Stripe, Sundance, Unilever, and Yeti Coolers. Brian has served as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, and writes a popular weekly newsletter on film.
Samantha Curley
Producer
Samantha Curley
Producer
Samantha Curley is an award-winning documentary producer and creative entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. She is the Co-Founder of Level Ground, a collaboratively-led artist collective and production company. The first two films she produced, Framing Agnes (2022) and Union (2024), both premiered at Sundance. She graduated from Northwestern and is a 2023 Impact Partners Fellow and Cali Catalyst grant recipient.
Eliza Licht
Red Owl
Eliza Licht
Red Owl
Eliza Licht is an industry leader in developing and implementing engagement strategies to maximize the impact and visibility of documentary films. Before starting Licht Creative Consulting, she spent 17 years at the PBS series, POV. In her current role, she creates and implements entire campaigns including overall strategy, partnership development, producing educational resources, and measuring impact.
Michael Tuckman
mTuckman media, inc
Michael Tuckman
mTuckman media, inc
A film industry vet for over 25 years, Michael Tuckman served as VP of Theatrical Sales for THINKFilm. He now runs mTuckman media, with which he works directly with filmmakers under their own banners or with other distributors. Releases include Academy Award nominees The Eternal Memory, Ascension and Last Days in Vietnam in addition to all of Frederick Wiseman’s films since 2009.
Stephen Maing
Director
Stephen Maing
Director
Stephen Maing is an Emmy-award winning director and cinematographer. His films are cinematic investigations of societal phenomena, complex power structures and the fascinating individuals who challenge them. His feature documentary Crime + Punishment, which he directed, filmed and edited, won a Special Jury Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, an Emmy for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. His previous films, High Tech, Low Life and The Surrender, screened internationally and were released on P.O.V. and Field of Vision, respectively. Maing is a 2021 United States Artists Fellow, Sundance Institute Fellow, NBC Original Voices Fellow, John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Reporting Fellow and a recipient of the IDA’s prestigious Courage Under Fire Award shared with the whistleblowers of the NYPD12. His most recent film Union, co-directed with Brett story, won a Special Jury Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival – and is an immersive cinéma vérité account of the historic efforts by workers to unionize the first Amazon fulfillment center. He is a frequent visiting artist, mentor, musician and educator based in Ridgewood, Queens.
11:30-12:45PM
Hybrid Distribution Strategies
This panel dives into the evolving world of hybrid distribution, offering filmmakers a hands-on opportunity to brainstorm strategies in real time. Using live case studies from Pulkit Datta (Israelism) and Chithra Jeyaram (Amma’s Pride) and Michael Premo (Homegrown), panelists will explore the mix of traditional and digital platforms, navigating the balance between festivals, theatrical releases and streaming. Attendees will learn how to craft flexible, tailored distribution plans that maximize a film’s reach and impact. Join us for an interactive session where filmmakers can think creatively about their distribution options and tap into new ways of getting their stories out into the world.
Chithra Jeyaram
Filmmaker
Chithra Jeyaram
Filmmaker
Chithra Jeyaram is a physical therapist turned filmmaker with an MFA in Film from the University of Texas in Austin. She specializes in one-person crew independent documentaries. She identifies as Tamil. Her work prioritizes subverting stereotypes by framing narratives that highlight perspectives, and intricacies that are left out. She is the recipient of Visions Du Reel RoughCut Lab [2023], Chicken and (Egg)Celerator Lab [2022], Brown Girls Doc Mafia Artist Fellowship [2021], Gotham Documentary Fellowship [2020], and Jerome Foundation [2019]. Her work has been featured on PBS, CBSN, Apple TV, Revry, Kanopy, SXSW, and DOC NYC. Now Chithra’s finishing, Our Daughters, a feature documentary that examines identity and adoption in America through an immigrant lens. In addition to directing and producing her work, she edits – Look Like You (2022, Short Narrative), an episode for CBSN Speaking Frankly Series: Symbolic Justice (2020), and 9 Degrees (2019, Short Doc). She is an adjunct faculty at NYU and Vassar. She is an active organizer and member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia and Bitchitra Collective.
Pulkit Datta
Producer & Director, Tikkun Olam Productions
Pulkit Datta
Producer & Director, Tikkun Olam Productions
Pulkit Datta is a producer, director, and film programmer, based in New York. Over fifteen years, he has worked on a wide range of scripted films, documentaries, commercials, short films, music videos and multimedia campaigns. His films have screened at festivals such as Toronto, Tribeca, Atlanta, Cinequest, Fantasia, LAAPFF, Cleveland, and OutFest. As a producer with Tikkun Olam Productions, he has co-produced the feature documentary ISRAELISM (Big Sky, CPH:Dox, Brooklyn Film Festival), and is currently producing climate activism doc series VS. GOLIATH. Pulkit is also a producer on INVISIBLE, a feature documentary about fibromyalgia (Amazon Prime, Tubi), and the gun-violence themed short documentary DO WE BELONG? (The Atlantic, 2018 IDA Doc Award shortlist). Pulkit has been a Producing Fellow at Center for Asian American Media as well as Impact Partners, and is an alum of IFP/Gotham Project Market.
1:45-3:00PM
Reimagining Distribution: Eno and the Case for Abundance
This panel delves into the current distribution challenges facing the documentary world. Using Gary Hustwit’s groundbreaking generative documentary Eno as a case study, moderator Amy Hobby (Distribution Advocates) and producers Jessica Edwards and Emily Rothschild explore how filmmakers can empower themselves and their films by shifting towards a distribution mindset that leverages the wealth of tools now at our disposal. From strategic partnerships and eventized screenings, to innovative digital platforms, this discussion will provide a roadmap for documentary filmmakers and producers to rethink the distribution landscape. Reimagine a future where creativity and collaboration can drive the success of independent documentaries.
Jessica Edwards
Founder, Film First
Jessica Edwards
Founder, Film First
Jessica Edwards has a broad background in the film industry as a director, producer, and publicist. She’s the founder of Film First, a production company that creates and distributes documentary features, shorts and new media projects including the award-winning Mavis! about soul and gospel pioneer Mavis Staples which won a Peabody in 2017. Edwards holds an MA in Media Studies from The New School in New York City and a BA in Cinema Studies from Concordia University in her native Canada. She lives and works in Brooklyn.
Emily Rothschild
Independent Distribution Consultant
Emily Rothschild
Independent Distribution Consultant
Emily Rothschild is an independent consultant providing services to films and film companies with her extensive background in acquisitions, distribution, marketing and community engagement. For several years, Emily served in various executive roles for distribution companies in the US. Most recently, she was Director of Theatrical Acquisitions and Marketing for PBS Distribution, where she helped launch a theatrical division, acquiring and releasing several award-winning films, including Academy Award-nominated Abacus, Dolores, and Academy Award-nominated For Sama.
Amy Hobby
Distribution Advocates
Amy Hobby
Distribution Advocates
Amy Hobby is a co-founder of Distribution Advocates, where she oversees the Film-Ade Fund. Film-ADE provides grants for innovation in audience building for US theatrical and non-theatrical releases.
Hobby previously served as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Tribeca Film Institute from 2016-2020. She is also an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning producer whose films have premiered at Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, SXSW, Tribeca, Telluride (among other festivals).
3:15-4:30PM
Own Your Audience, Own Your Success
This panel explores how distribution challenges have sparked the emergence of direct-to-audience platforms like Jolt, GATHR, and Kinema, turning obstacles into opportunities for filmmakers. Born out of necessity, digital platforms and grassroots marketing have become creative solutions to bypass traditional industry barriers. Moderated by Jon Reiss of 8Above, panelists Neil Williams (GATHR), Christie Marchese (Kinema), and Tara Hein-Phillips (Jolt) will share their 30,000-foot view on the evolution of audience-to-distribution techniques, highlighting how these methods expand opportunities to exhibit films. Discover how these innovative approaches allow filmmakers to build loyal audiences, sustain their creative independence, and earn revenue, driving the creation of new pathways to success in today’s film landscape.
Jon Reiss
Filmmaker and Film Strategist, Hybrid Cinema/8Above
Jon Reiss
Filmmaker and Film Strategist, Hybrid Cinema/8Above
Jon Reiss is a filmmaker, author and media strategist who wrote the book Think Outside the Box Office. His company, 8 Above, creates custom strategies and distribution campaigns for proactive filmmakers. Reiss has consulted with hundreds of filmmakers and film organizations throughout the world including The Gotham, IDA, Screen Australia, Film Independent, Creative Scotland. He has conducted his Master Classes over five continents and was the Senior Lab Leader at the IFP/Gotham Filmmaker Lab for ten years. 8 Above has developed bespoke audience-building strategies and theatrical campaigns for independent films, specialty films, and documentaries, including Sam Now, The First Step, Two Gods, The Disrupted, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, Sweetheart Dancers, Surviving Sex Trafficking, Nasrin, Hooligan Sparrow, and No Small Matter. 8above.com
Christie Marchese
Kinema
Christie Marchese
Kinema
Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema. Kinema is a global film distribution and exhibition platform that leverages the power of community and social interaction to screen and stream films. She was previously the founder and CEO of the award-winning impact agency Picture Motion. Prior to PicMo, she ran impact for Righteous Pictures, led digital strategy for the social action group at Participant Media, and handled program coordination and social media at Norman Lear’s GOTV nonprofit Declare Yourself.
Christie is also the co-author of The Distribution Playbook and won several industry recognitions, including being named one of Fortune’s Rising Female Founders in 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2021. She’s currently on the board of Subject Matter and The Reinvent Stockton Foundation, and on the Capacity Council for Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
Neil Williams
GATHR
Neil Williams
GATHR
Neil is Head of Filmmaker Relations and Concierge Services at GATHR, the world’s first end-to-end event management system that combines film, talent and venue booking; ticketing; merchandise sales; memberships and in-person, virtual, and hybrid exhibitions into a single platform. He produced the Independent Spirit Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominated film Miss Juneteenth and is an alumnus of the Sundance Creative Producing Lab, The Gotham Cannes Producer Fellowship and has been supported by the Austin Film Society and Cucalorus. As a writer/director his shorts have played international film festivals and he was an inaugural 2023 Blumhouse/K Period Screamwriting fellow for his horror script The Plat-Eye. He has an MFA in Film Production from USC School of Cinematic Arts and a BA in Public Policy from Duke University.
Tara Hein-Phillips
Jolt
Tara Hein-Phillips
Jolt
Tara Hein-Phillips’s professional experience as a product and technology leader spans 20 years, with a focus on the arts and education. She was the Chief Product Officer at Sundance, launching the first virtual festival in 2021 and was co-founder of Sundance Collab.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
