The traditional distribution playbook isn't delivering for most independent filmmakers. Chaired by Iddo Patt, this panel brings together the producer of How to Have Sex Emily Leo, the filmmaker behind We'll Go Down in History, Cameron Richards, and others to explore how building community, partnerships and audience demand early is changing what a film's route to market looks like, and what emerging producers can take from the documentary world's approach to impact-led distribution.
For most independent filmmakers, the conventional route to reaching audiences is broken. Festivals, sales agents, platform deals: the pipeline that once defined a film's life after production now works for just a few. The projects cutting through are the ones that start building community and strategic partnerships long before release, often as early as financing, where funders increasingly want to know who a film is actually for.
In the documentary space, this thinking isn't new. Many docs were never expected to generate a return at the box office. Their value sits in lobbying, social impact and public engagement, and organisations like Doc Society have championed impact distribution as a discipline for years. What's changed is that those strategies are now driving commercial demand too, with grassroots activations and partner-led screenings creating momentum that sometimes snowballs back into theatrical runs.
Chaired by Eventive co-founder Iddo Patt, this panel pairs BAFTA-winning producer Emily Leo with filmmakers like Cameron Richards, who made We'll Go Down in History, a BFI Doc Society-funded short that found its audience through the grassroots football community at its centre.
Whether you're making shorts or building towards a first feature, this is a practical look at what distribution can be when you stop waiting for the industry to catch up.
