September 19, 1998
The first day of screenings and seminars at the market was uneventful--there
may be some sort of networking and socializing going on, but I haven't
got the hang of it, and mostly wandered around the Angelika looking stupid.
The seminars, besides being fairly educational, give us a chance to identify
the buyers and possibly even to buttonhole them afterwards--there's always
a rush to the front of the room during the final applause. One of
the seminars, a discussion with a group of distributors, raised the idea
in my mind of hiring a publicist, who would know how to contact important
people who otherwise might not give me their time. A major festival
would be one occasion where a publicist would be helpful; if I don't acquire
a distributor and want to try getting my film into theaters anyway, a publicist
would greatly increase the chances of critics attending press screenings
and writing reviews that could attract buyers.
Went to my second ritzy film market party in two nights. Unlike
last night, I managed to socialize a bit--I never met a buyer, but had
conversations with a few of my fellow filmmakers. The prevailing
social mode at the market is opportunistic conquest, but every so often
people relax and act human. After a little bit of that, though, we
feel guilty about wasting time and go back on the prowl.
Click here to read the next diary entry,
here to read the previous entry, and here to
go back to the main menu.