What’s the Deal: Documentary Distribution Panel

Keith Wilson, conference panelist on “What’s the Deal: Documentary Distribution Panel,” at the Getting Real Conference of the International Documentary Association, Los Angeles, April 18.

Description: Knowledge is power. For many of us, alternative forms of distribution beyond working with a distributor, broadcaster, or platform seem like merely a backup plan. But for some—and perhaps, many—projects, pathways like airlines, crowdfunded DIY distribution, and church circuits may lead to more impacted audiences and impactful screenings, even if they are developed out of necessity. For well-connected filmmakers, we hear rumors of these supposedly ancillary deals and how they work through the whisper network. It's time to bring these conversations out of the corners of happy hours and into the open. In What's the Deal, an experimental panel format crossed with a game show, filmmaker-host Chase Whiteside will dive into these questions with experienced producers who are willing to share their secrets and successes—but only after their fellow panelists and the audience first take their best guesses at what the real deals were.