I just realized that as of March 16, I have been mostly ignoring my blog for about 2 years. In those 2 years a lot has happened. The lack of posts is mostly due to my busy schedule. Working in international film sales means a lot of traveling. Last year I went to Hong Kong, Cannes, The Netherlands, and throughout Scandinavia. In addition, I've gotten distribution on one of my short films, gone to Coachella, and been front and center at a Pet Shop Boys concert at O2 arena in London.
Already this year, I am in the middle of a trip through Asia, including Seoul, Taipei, Singapore and Hong Kong. There's only so much you can learn by surfing the internet. Sometimes you have to actually go to the territory and see what's on the channels and go to the DVD stores to see who is selling which titles. Overall, I really think the DVD market is suffering everywhere in the world. Between piracy, illegal downloads and illegal imports, the DVD market is quickly disappearing. But luckily new digital and IPTV channels internationally are growing and expanding quickly. That is why I am always telling filmmakers to start making TV movies instead of focusing on direct to DVD films, which had supported independent filmmakers for the past 30 years.
We will see how the international film distribution world changes in the next two years. Things change really quickly in the world of independent film. Distributors and producers come and go very quickly. Who could have predicted that Summit would become a new mini-major while the Weinstein company would be struggling to survive?
