Arthouse film institution research

Production: Independent film studios

The Falling

1. The Falling was produced by the British Film Institute and BBC Films.
2. BBC Films has released several independent British films such as Testament of Youth. The BFI also releases independent and experimental British films alongside documentaries such as Night Will Fall which got many positive reviews from critics.
3. The BFI is quite successful as it is iconic within the British film industry and it has helped to release many films and documentaries.

The White Ribbon

1. The White Ribbon was produced by the Wega Film and X Filme.
2. Wega Film is an Austrian film production company therefore it mainly produces Austrian/Foreign Films i.e. Cracks in Concrete which is a drama based film. X Filme is a German movie and television production company, and mainly produces artistic independent films. An example of a film produced by X Filme is Lulu and Jimi which is a melodramatic film 
3. A successful arthouse film produced by X Filme is Run Lola Run, and for Wega Film, Caché is one of its successful films. 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

1. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was produced by Logan Pictures and Spectre Vision.
2. SpectreVision is a relatively new American film production company, and mostly focuses on niche market based films such as A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. The film was also produced by Logan Pictures, which is a creative studio and Production Company which is quite experimental. From their website I have found that they mainly produce visuals and sequences for films.
3. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is the main success of SpectreVision which got many positive reviews from critics. 

Boyhood

1. Boyhood was produced by IFC Productions and Detour Filmproduction 
2. IFC Productions mainly produces independent films such as Born to be Blue. Detour Filmproduction also produces independent arthouse films such as Slacker.
3. The Babadook is one of the IFC's successes and Before Midnight is one of Detour Filmproduction's successes. 

Girlhood

1. Girlhood was produced by several production companies, such as Arte France Cinéma and Canal+, which are both TV network companies. However film companies such as Hold Up Films and Lilies Films also contributed to the production. It could be argued that Girlhood isn’t an arthouse film because it was produced by major production companies therefore it can't be a low-budget film as most arthouse films are.
2.  Hold Up Films produces independent French films such as Tomboy, which Lilies Films also contributed to. Lilies Films is also a French company which produces independent foreign films such as Baby Balloon.
3. Tomboy is one of Hold Up Films and Lilies Films successful films with many positive reviews from critics. 

Distribution: Independent film distributors

1)    The Ten Steps of Film Distribution

1. The filmmaker will have to come up with an idea for their film. It can be based on a novel for example, a true life story (biography), and an event and so on. This idea needs to be finalised and good enough to get the distributor on board.
2. The distributers start to do some research and explore how a particular film can impact its consumers and try to find a target audience. The distributors try to identify and deliver the film to the largest possible audience which will therefore have not only an impact but bring in revenue. To do this distributers aim to promote interest in titles they are handling which is a competition itself as nearly all distributors of films take this approach.
3. The distributors have several tasks, with the first being to identify and deliver to the largest possible audience for every film that comes their way. This is eventually confirmed. The distributors have to identify their audience and put into consideration why they'd go and see the film. They then have to estimate the revenue potential of the film from its release, which is quite vital when it comes to persuading cinema operators to play the film as they would also want some revenue from exhibiting the film. Another challenge is then to develop plans and partnerships to build awareness of the film and get others to gain interest in the film which will then increase the chance of someone going to the cinema to watch this film.
4. There are many film distributors within the UK. The UK has six major distributors which are directly associated to the major Hollywood studios and also many independent distributors who aren’t associated with Hollywood studios. These independent distributors are more likely to handle films made outside the major studios i.e. low-budget arthouse films, independent films. The aspiring filmmaker will have to choose and find a distributor who will handle their film.
5. The Film has to be obtained by the film distributor. This can be done by a sales agent, a negotiation by the studio/production company to a distributor etc.
6. A formal contract is signed between the distributors and the producer, sales agent or studio which states the rights they hold and allows the release of the film to take place.
7. The distributor needs to plan the theatrical release of the film and needs to be prepared; this is developed through the meetings with the producers/studio or by letting the distributors have access to the film so they can see what they’re exactly dealing with.
8. The distributor has to decide when it is most appropriate and best to release a film in order to increase its chances of having a higher viewing which will therefore increase the revenue that will be gained from the film. Several factors are considered such as who the film is for, who will most likely be convinced to buy a cinema ticket to see it and why they would do so, whether the film can be placed within a popular, recognisable genre and so on.
9. The distributor has to try and raise awareness of the film to gain a larger audience to go view the film. This can be done through advertisement i.e. posters, trailers. Film awards, premiers and festivals are also great opportunities to raise awareness of a specific film. Merchandise and promotions are also vital in this process.
10. Lastly, the film is licensed to the exhibitors. There are security protocols that are adopted across the industry to make sure that film prints are kept safe throughout the theatrical run and protected. This prevents any illegal activity taking place.

2)

The Falling: Metrodome Distribution

Girlhood: Girlhood has not been distributed in the UK.

Boyhood: Universal Pictures International

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night has not been distributed in the UK.

The White Ribbon:  Artificial Eye

3)

The Falling: This film was released theatrically which suggests that it has also been exhibited at mainstream cinemas. By checking Vue’s website I have found that it was at some point shown at Vue which is considered to be a mainstream cinema.

Girlhood: This film was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. (There is no other information in regards to what kind of cinemas it was shown at etc.)

Boyhood: Boyhood was released theatrically around the globe according to Wikipedia; this suggests that it was exhibited in mainstream cinemas such as Vue.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: This film was shown in the “Next” program at the Sundance Film Festival (No other information in regards to whether it was shown at cinemas or not)

The White Ribbon:  This film was released in selected cinemas in Germany on 17^th September 2009 before being followed by a wide release on 15^th October.

4)

The Falling:

·         Budget - £750,000

·         Gross – £359,082

·         Profit - £390,918

Girlhood: Budget not available, but the gross is $1.7 million

Boyhood:

·         Budget - $4 million

·         Gross - $46 million

·         Profit - $42 million

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: Budget not available, but the gross is $514,260

The White Ribbon:

·         Budget - $18 million

·         Gross - $19.3 million

·         Profit - $1.3 million

5) Curzon Artificial Eye is one of the UK’s leading independent film distributors who release critically acclaimed films to UK audiences. They are quite successful and have released more Cannes Palme d’Or winners than any other UK distributor.

6) From the three trailers I have watched from Curzon Artificial Eye’s youtube channel I have found that editing is quite vital as shown in the "Ice and the Sky" clip. The use of filters
to create an old film look gives the clip a sense of authenticity which creates an overall vintage look. From "The Choir" trailer I have found that lighting is also quite vital and can have a major effect on the way you scene will look, there is a lot of different lighting techniques used such as low-key lighting. The "Mia Madre" trailer made me realise how effective a voice over can be, as a voice over of the narrator is used to portray the true thoughts of the narrator.

Exhibition: Arthouse cinemas

1. The Electric Cinema, it is in Notting Hill, London. 
2. The Electric Cinema usually shows arthouse films, which are experimental or low budget such as The Lobster which will be exhibited on the 6th of December. It can therefore be argued that arthouse cinemas are aimed at the niche market as the mainstream audience are unlikely to watch experimental or low budget films like The Lobster. However, they sometimes do exhibit major films such as Star Wars which will be exhibited on the 18th of December and Bridge of Spies on the 4th of December which will also be exhibited in cinema chains such as Vue. 
3. Middle class young-adult/adult audiences would usually attend this arthouse cinema, and a reason for this may be because of the cost of the tickets (quite expensive) and the fact that the films that are usually exhibited are mostly 15 and over. However there are sometimes films that are PG/U that are exhibited, and there is also a kid’s club section at the Electric Cinema so a younger middle-class audience are likely to attend. 

A case study in independent film production: Film London and Microwave Film

1. Film London is one of the nine regional screen agencies throughout the UK, and has the aims of sustaining and developing the London film industry
2. Microwave Films is a funding scheme for UK feature films, and the purpose of Microwave Films is to fund and distribute films 
3. The London Calling project for Film London is a scheme which independent filmmaking teams who resident in the capital can apply for to get training and mentoring, match funding and if successful be awarded a maximum of £4,000.
4.  

iLL Manors fits the conventions for an arthouse film because the narrative is based around urban life in London. Rather than the film being based on entertaining the audience it is more based on raising awareness on issues such as drug dealing ans gang violence, therefore the film can be argued to be quite experimental 

Borrowed Time could be considered to be an arthouse film because it is an independent film. This can be seen through the fact that the film has been made on a lower budget than usual, hence the reason why the setting is more local, simpler script etc.

Shifty is quite similar to iLL Manors in terms of the narrative as it has elements of drug dealng and raises awareness on the issue which makes it an urban life based film. However I can tell it was made on a lower budget as it is more local based and a smaller scale than iLL Manors which links back to the conventions of an arthouse film being independent and on a smaller scale than the major films we see in mainstream cinemas today.

5) Tips:

1. Don't have too many things going on in the script, make sure you stick to one singular idea.
2. Have a clear idea of who your audience is
3. Observe what people want to watch