Cause Pictures Impact Lab Ready to Launch
A 12-week working lab for filmmakers ready to build a clear path to festivals, impact, distribution, and funding
Jon Fitzgerald is a writer, producer, director, festival and distribution consultant probably best known for co-founding Slamdance (watch our interview with him). On May 1st his company Cause Pictures launches a new Impact Lab based on the work he’s been developing around new models of film distribution, audience-building, and creative partnerships.
The Impact Lab is for writers and indie filmmakers interested in getting their movies made and seen.
It’s designed to help participants:
- Refine their project in development so it’s ready for production
- Seed and grow their audience—from development through release
- Build partnerships with brands, organizations, and venues
- Create revenue beyond traditional distribution models
Best of all, mention Coverage Ink on your application form and get 20% off.
We grabbed a beer with Jon to find out more about it all and to see who might benefit from it.
CI: What is Cause Pictures?
JF: Cause Pictures has been the key driver of our businesses these past few years, producing socially relevant movies, providing festival consulting services to filmmakers and advising on new distribution models for indie filmmakers looking to find an audience.
CI: You’ve been working on creating new distribution models. Can you tell us why you think that’s necessary in today’s entertainment industry?
JF: I firmly believe that we are entering the most exciting and explosive opportunities for alternative exhibition. The old models are broken. Hollywood is broken. Traditional theater exhibition is struggling. They are hanging on by a thread since COVID. The good news is theaters are now more open to creative solutions; and of course filmmakers are as well. Growing audiences BEFORE a movie comes out. Creating events around screenings. These are two key factors that are yielding success for filmmakers with entrepreneurial spirit.
CI: You advocate for filmmakers to “seed and grow their audience”—how would someone go about doing that?
JF: It’s different for every film. There is no singular path. The Wisdom of Trauma had one model, creating limited access to a targeted group, and speaking to a specific community. They had groups, readership from a previous book, and memberships. Iron Lung had millions of YouTube subscribers. And others are leaning into corporate and foundation sponsors with users, subscribers and access that can help seed audiences before a movie hits a screen. And of course, social media and influencer support can help generate interest prior to a release.
CI: Filmmakers often find it difficult to make their budget back (let alone turn a profit) via the traditional distribution route. What advice would you give them?
JF: Know your audience (and categories or niches of audience targets). Make the film for a price. If you can make a movie for a few hundred thousand, or less than a milllon, you have a greater chance of recouping your investment. I don’t believe the standard pre-sales, based on talent packaging, works the way it did a few years ago. I think we’re entering into the creator economy. Have a voice, anchored by a strong screenplay and edit with locations, budgets and audience in mind.
CI: Where do you see the movie industry headed in the next few years?
JF: I believe we will continue to see success stories (like these) with independent movies succeeding with creative hybrid distribution models that don’t need a traditional theatrical release to drive success. New distribution & exhibition partners will emerge with new opportunities to connect with communities and audiences. Fan bases. Event releases. Roadshows. Audience building. Creator economy.
As broken as Hollywood is, we are moving into the most exciting time I’ve ever seen for emerging film talent. Just takes 3 things:
1 – a great story,
2 – a creative and customized approach for your audience;
3 – an all-star team, as it takes a village.