A small indie company comes at independent distribution from many different angles

Without a doubt, the current state of independent film distribution is in flux. As old models compete with new technologies, consumers and filmmakers alike face a daunting range of choices. This situation has, however, offered unique opportunities for savvy distributors to claim new ground, and the New York-based Indiepix is one of the most successful recent examples of this trend. Approaching acquisition and distribution from several different angles, the company offers an interesting blend of old school and new. Indiepix focuses primarily on DVD sales and their patented Download-to-Own system, which allows users to download films to their computers and then burn them to DVD (a key difference between Indiepix's download program and other systems such as Amazon's Unbox). But the breadth of their approach doesn't end there.

Founded in 2004, Indiepix originally was focused on just selling non-exclusive DVDs; President Bob Alexander had worked as a home video consultant for Hollywood studios, and had seen the potential impact DVDs could have on the independent film market early on. The first couple of years of its existence, the company mainly sold catalog titles from other companies. The notion of acquiring films for distribution came when Jordan Mattos, currently Indiepix's head of acquisitions for narrative and short films, together with documentary filmmaker Danielle Di Giacomo (who now coordinates the company's documentary acquisitions) began meeting filmmakers whose films had played major festivals but had yet to find distribution. "You'd be amazed at how many filmmakers play festivals like Sundance and wind up unable to sell their films," Di Giacomo says. As a result, the company has been acquiring films for distribution over the last two years. Today, Indiepix boasts a catalog of 150 exclusive films, out of the 3000 total films that they actually sell. "The idea has always been to help independent filmmakers in whatever way we can," Di Giacomo says. "And different filmmakers need help in different ways."

Di Giacomo describes the two types of films that Indiepix acquires for distribution. Most come in through a standard general submission process through the website: If Indiepix likes it, they agree to manufacture DVDs of the film, create cover art, do email blasts promoting the film, and spotlight it on their site. In return, the filmmaker does not get an advance, but they do get 60% of the revenue stream of the film - one of the most generous deals in the business. But in more traditional fashion, Di Giacomo and Mattos also look for films to acquire at festivals; these tend to be more high-profile, and Indiepix will often go a bit further to promote these titles, arranging for special marketing initiatives, with more screenings and niche promotions. In some cases, Indiepix will even arrange for a theatrical release for a film. One recent title, Jeremy and Randy Stulberg's Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa, about a community in New Mexico that specifically chooses to live on the fringe, without electricity and "a million miles from mainstream society," will play numerous theaters in the Southwest, while it also premieres on the Sundance Channel and appears on DVD this May.

Indiepix has also been advancing into the realm of production. Last year, the company became involved with Jennifer Venditti's acclaimed documentary Billy the Kid. "Jordan and I saw a fairly rough cut of the film, and we fell in love with it," Di Giacomo recalls. They then set up a meeting between the film's producers and Indiepix management. As a result, the company provided much-needed finishing funds for the filmmakers, and Mattos and Di Giacomo became associate producers on the film. Their investment and hard work paid off: Billy the Kid won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 South by Southwest film festival, and Best Documentary at the Edinburgh and Los Angeles Film Festivals, among others.

Indiepix's expansion in the independent film world doesn't end there. Earlier this March, the company took a step even beyond distribution by sponsoring and organizing the first annual Cinema Eye Honors in New York, an awards show for documentaries hosted and co-chaired by blogger/filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain About a Son) and Toronto Film Festival documentary programmer Thom Powers. 25 films competed in nine categories, and the event also served as a gathering place for the elite of the independent documentary world, with presenters that included Barbara Koppel (Harlan County, USA), Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) , and Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side). The idea for the Cinema Eye Honors was partly the result of widespread frustration at the films excluded from Oscar's documentary shortlist. In other words, the awards show came into being the way so many other things at Indiepix have done: "There were all these great films that had been ignored," Di Giacomo says. "So we thought maybe we should find another way to honor them."

--Bilge Ebiri