As a film enthusiast and someone who has followed Gary Hustwit‘s career for years, I am in awe of his tenacity and innovation in the world of independent documentary filmmaking. In an industry where the odds are stacked against you, Hustwit continues to defy conventions and push boundaries.
In early 2024, when Gary Hustwit showcased his new documentary “Eno” at Sundance, he felt confident rather than worried that the film about musician Brian Eno would secure a distributor.
It was a long shot for him: Obtaining a major film studio deal as an independent filmmaker nowadays is similar to hitting the jackpot in the lottery. Moreover, Hustwit’s choice to deviate from the traditional documentary format about Eno’s career by creating generative software that generates unique versions of the movie each time it’s watched added to the challenge of securing a deal.
In spite of various obstacles, Hustwit and producer Jessica Edwards received multiple distribution offers at Park City from different companies.
Despite his eagerness, the filmmaker acknowledged that the distributors weren’t quite prepared for his unconventional distribution plan. “I believe most distributors weren’t ready for a project like ‘Eno,'” he shared. “Additionally, I was still refining the software required to stream a film with varying versions each play. There was certainly enthusiasm for the movie, but I sense they primarily wanted me to produce a director’s cut and release it traditionally. That wasn’t an option I was considering at that point.”
Refusing to agree to a documentary distribution deal nowadays might seem like an unusual decision, but Hustwit, renowned for his 2007 doc “Helvetica,” has been handling film distribution himself since before it was common practice among indie filmmakers.
For nearly twenty years, Hustwit has bypassed intermediaries and sold his documentaries directly to cinemas and streaming platforms with successes like “Helvetica,” “Objectified” (2009), and “Rams” (2018). This innovative director not only produces these films but also collects audience data, licenses them, and organizes distribution events – all before these terms became popular. In 2018 alone, Hustwit held approximately 40 events for his documentary “Rams,” about German designer Dieter Rams. These events proved lucrative, generating over $55,000 in revenue from the Castro Theater showing in San Francisco and around $46,250 from a one-night event at London’s Barbican Hall.
According to Hustwit, having a distribution deal doesn’t mean you get to take it easy. On the contrary, you’ll still be putting in long hours, mostly fixing errors made by the distributor. It may seem paradoxical, but handling things yourself is often simpler, and another advantage is that you keep full ownership of your film. This means we can monetize our collection of films as new platforms, technologies, and revenue streams become available.
Hustwit and Edwards, who are both marketing and booking the film “Eno” through their production company Film First, have been touring theaters in the US and Europe this summer after the movie’s successful festival run during winter and spring. Before its recent screening at Film Forum, they arranged live showings of “Eno” at venues like the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and SVA Theater in New York, charging $40 per ticket.
During our live events, Hustwit explains, we generate a documentary in real-time with the help of Brain One, our advanced computer system. A nod to Brian Eno, Brain One is an intriguing anagram of his name. It draws from over 500 hours of footage from the “Eno” archive, as well as interviews Hustwit collected over the years. Connected to a theater’s projection system, Brain One creates a fresh version of “Eno.”
At cinemas like Film Forum, Hustwit generates a customized ProRes file of “Eno” from his computer system for producing the documentary. Subsequently, he manufactures a distinctive Digital Cinema Package (DCP) for this specific film. This procedure is commonplace among filmmakers. However, an exceptional case for “Eno” is that Hustwit must create a new DCP every day the movie is screened at a theater.
Creating distinctive document files and converting them into Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) is typically a labor-intensive task for filmmakers. They usually perform this process only once, after which they widely disseminate their documentary to cinemas and streaming platforms.
Making “Eno” accessible to small, rural movie theaters around the country would be both important yet economically impractical for Hustwit and Edwards. To address this challenge, they have partnered with Art House Convergence (AHC), a network comprising about 400 independent cinemas, to reach out directly to AHC’s audience in smaller communities nationwide.
On October 8 and 10, two distinct showings of the film “Eno” will be presented at AHC theaters. The screenings on each day will vary and take place at different venues.
For the initial collaboration, AHC teams up with a documentary film crew for the first time, enabling them to reach out and engage viewers in various locations nationwide.
“Kate Markham, managing director of AHC, expressed her enthusiasm: Our cinema members get to contribute by introducing ‘Eno’s distinctive artistic experience to art house moviegoers nationwide.”
Collaborating with artistic institutions, arranging theater bookings, sharing ticket expenses, advertising film showings, and organizing live performances are additional tasks that an independent documentary filmmaking team may find burdensome. However, according to Hustwit, these responsibilities are essential aspects of the profession.
“He believes that ‘this is what filmmaking entails.’ Traveling from city to city, such as San Francisco for a private screening and Nashville for two live showings, is an integral part of the filmmaking journey. If one attempts to distinguish between creating the movie and all other aspects, he feels that success may elude them in today’s industry.”
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2024-07-23 19:48