“The Goal is Social Change”
Intern
As IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Conference comes to an end, I’d like to rewind for a minute and recap my favorite moment from all the great panels I was able to watch as an intern at Arts Engine.
Throughout the conference there was plenty of talk about distribution methods and successful business models for selling a film, but during Thursday’s “A Conversation with Robert Greenwald” I was caught off guard by his mention of the “House Party” model.
Robert Greenwald, director of Iraq for Sale and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, spoke about documentary filmmaking as a form of activism, and how he manages his recent online short projects at Brave New Films. While Brave New Films uploads their videos for free on youtube.com, some of Greenwald’s other works have been distributed using the House Party model: which involves getting one person to obtain a copy of the film, and then inviting everyone they know over to their house to watch and discuss it.
Why embrace a business model that focuses on a single person getting a copy of the film and sharing it, rather than trying to sell as many copies as possible? Because “it’s not a model to move units, but to reach as many people as possible.”
“The goal is social change” Greenwald said.
I think the message behind a model like this is really comes through in getting more people to take action and spread the word.
In an interview with Patrick Phillips at iwantmedia.com, Greenwald said:
“I actually think the house parties increase the credibility of the film in the sense that people all over the country open up their houses, come together and then discuss the film in detail. This is very different from watching TV and falling asleep with the clicker in your hand, or taking your date to the latest roller-coaster movie at the neighborhood mall and then going out for beer and pizza afterwards.”
“This for me truly is the epitome of credibility in democracy — when people watch a film, study it and then decide what they’re going to do or not do after they see the film.”
(http://www.iwantmedia.com/people/people39.html)
-Thomas Morgan
Editor’s Note: Two previously published articles that further explore the “House Party” model championed by Robert Greenwald include Three Things Documentary Filmmakers Can Learn from the Super Bowl and Screening Across the Globe: Encouraging Others to Host a Screening of Your Film.
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