Reinvention for Disruptive Times Seminar 4

Rethinking Distribution

Wed, Aug 26, 10am PT / 1pm ET

Virtual | 90 Min

Registrants will receive the Zoom link via email before the event.

 
Buy a Session Ticket ($5)
Buy a Series Pass - All Four Sessions ($15)
 

Co-Presented by Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media

This seminar will address strategies to navigate the increasingly consolidated distributor ecosystem that often marginalizes filmmakers’ distribution goals and success. We will look at what kinds of alternative strategies are working to reach audiences in this climate, and how we can develop strategic distribution plans responding to current trends. We will also look at innovations to address consolidation, repackaging, and the loss of diverse distributors.

Topics will include:

  • How is consolidation impacting indie distribution and what can we do about it?

  • Innovations in the distribution ecosystem

  • What to look for in a distributor in this climate.

  • Innovations and progress in self-distribution. 

  • Pivoting to Impact, DIY, and new partnerships

Guest Panelists:

Jon-Sesrie Goff, Program Officer, Ford Foundation

Arlin Golden, Co-Director, Video Project

Keisha Nicole Knight, Founder, Sentient.Art.Film and Solidarity Media Network

Cost:

Recordings:

  • Registrants will have access to a recording for the purchased session for 7 days. The recording will be sent in a follow-up email, along with slides and downloadable resources, after the event.

  • You will also receive a recording of Session 1 for a limited time.

  • FCSF members will have continuing access to the recordings through their membership. Members can access our recordings library via the member portal on the FCSF website.

Guest Panelists:

Jon-Sesrie Goff is a filmmaker, curator, cultural strategist, and field-builder working at the intersection of narrative power, public-interest media, and social justice. As a Program Officer at the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms initiative, his global portfolio supports independent documentary film, new media, and visual storytelling— supporting artists, organizations, and infrastructure that advance cultural power and narrative sovereignty. His work spans artist-centered ecosystems, equitable distribution, emerging technology, AI ethics, public media, and new economic models for sustaining independent storytelling.

Arlin Golden is a documentary filmworker in the San Francisco Bay Area serving as a film distributor, director, producer, programmer, festival organizer, exhibitor, and critic. He is co-director of Video Project, an impact-oriented distributor of documentary films, as well as director and programmer of Drunken Film Fest Oakland, a free event bringing world-class films into the democratized social space of local bars. He also co-hosted Wiseman Podcast, a film by film series engaging with the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman. He received his BA in film studies from UC Santa Barbara, and has collaborated with filmmaker Brian Gersten as a producer on a number of documentary shorts. His first short documentary as director, Back Yard, screened at such fests as Ann Arbor, Sheffield, and the inaugural Prismatic Ground, and his follow up Balloon Boy garnered worldwide distribution and was named a Vimeo Staff Pick.

Keisha Nicole Knight is a researcher and media organizer based in Los Angeles, California. She founded the creative distribution initiative Sentient.Art.Film in 2018 and is also the founder of Solidarity Media Network, a newly created hub for justice focused media. Keisha is a doctoral candidate in Film and Visual Studies at Harvard University where her study focuses on image circulation and visual economy.

Moderators:

Jennifer Crystal Chien is a documentary filmmaker with a focus on personal storytelling from immigrants and people of color. In 2017, she co-founded Re-Present Media, a grassroots nonprofit that advocates for personal storytelling in documentary film and nonfiction media. In addition to presenting films with community dialogues by established filmmakers, Re-Present Media also offers professional development for emerging filmmakers and coordinates field-wide advocacy campaigns to support and elevate voices from communities not often seen in media. Jennifer was named a DOC NYC Documentary New Leader in 2022. Jennifer also serves as the Board President of Filmmakers Collaborative SF.

Kevin White is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with a focus on environmental and social issues. He has more than a dozen films that are in distribution, including his most recent film, Wilder than Wild: Fire, Forests and the Future, which has had 450+ community screenings and more than 850 broadcasts on PBS, plus educational distribution with Video Project. Kevin is the Co-Founder and Executive Director for Filmmakers Collaborative SF, and frequently consults with filmmakers on story approach, fundraising, and distribution. He is also on the Board of several media nonprofits.

For questions and accessibility requests: email info@filmmakerscollaborative.org

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