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| Reaching millions of viewers isn't realistic for the majority of independent filmmakers. / gettyimagesbank |
Unable to hire distributors, many documentary filmmakers desperate to secure screens
By Kang Hyun-kyung
What is it like being a filmmaker whose movie storms into the top spot at the box office after it opens? Many art and independent filmmakers have imagined the thrilling moment while filming.
For blockbuster films featuring big stars, it's relatively easy to attract millions of viewers and have a strong showing in local theaters because their financially capable studios have knowhow and expertise in marketing, distribution and other post-production issues.
But the story for independent filmmakers is very different. Their budget is tight and many of them, particularly first-time directors, are strangers to the post-production process.
Reaching millions of viewers isn't realistic for the majority of independent filmmakers. Without a division of labor in many cases because they cannot hire distributors or marketing experts for financial reason, they are grappling with heavy workloads beyond simply shooting their films. Once the film is shot, they'll likely find it tougher to set up meetings with art-house representatives to secure screens for showing their films.
"I still feel embarrassed whenever I think of the time I first contacted CGV theaters to ask if they're interested in my movie," said Kim Deog-young. He directed the documentary film "Kim Il-sung's Children" which has been showing at CGV and Lotte cinemas since June 25, marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.
Kim said he dialed CGV's toll-free number for making a movie ticket reservation because no other numbers were available. "Of course, no one was responding and the automated voice recording encouraging me to press numbers to watch certain movies kept running. I eventually was able to speak to the man in charge of accepting movies after several failed attempts."
Compared to other documentary filmmakers, he is lucky because he was able to present his first film in theaters.
With no prior experience and no cinema business network at their disposal, those first-timers fumble a lot to make even tiny progress.
Many first-time directors have had similar chaotic experiences until they finally find and sit down with the right person.
Director Kim Lyang, who has produced three documentaries in the last nine years, made a directorial debut with her third documentary film "Forbidden Fatherland" which has been showing in 11 Arthouse theaters nationwide since its opening on June 18.
The film revolves around her North Korean-born father who has missed his hometown and longed for a reunion with relatives in the North for his entire life. Her first two films were unable to open in cinemas because she couldn't afford to hire a distributor.
Although she has made three films, she said post-production marketing and distribution remain a tough job for a money-strapped documentary filmmaker like her. "I know Korea Film Council has funds to help independent filmmakers find distributors. But I feel that the selection process is not transparent," she said.
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| A still of feature film "Baseball Girl" directed by Choi Yun-tae / Korea Times file |
The post-production "chaos" and competition becomes nerve-racking as the decision on the screening of their movies becomes a waiting game.
"Well-made" is not sufficient to find an opening for their movies ― the fate of their movies is in the hands of the cinemas.
Cinema officials make decisions whether the submitted films will be screened or not. If decisions to screen certain films are made, they also make a decision as to how many screenings each movie will receive.
In many cases, a film's box office success hinges on how many screens have been secured nationwide and how long they are to be screened for.
Feature film "Baseball Girl" directed by Choi Yun-tae rose to the top of the local box office in the art and independent films category with nearly 30,000 ticket sales as of Tuesday. The movie starring award-winning actress Lee Joo-young revolves around a female baseball player who strives to join a professional club to make her dream come true as a big leaguer. There are no teams for her because pro clubs have male members only. But she doesn't give up. "Baseball Girl" has played on 130 screens nationwide since it opened on June 18.
"Call Me by Your Name," which opened on March 22, ranked second in the art film box office with the Italian movie being shown on 58 screens.
Australian filmmaker Rodd Rathjen's "Buoyancy," which opened on June 25, ranked fourth in the box office for art and independent movies. It has played on 107 screens since and amassed 3,642 ticket sales.
Meanwhile, documentary film "Kim Il-sung's Children," which opened the same day, has sold 1,035 tickets until Tuesday.
The number of screens both films secured has the answer to the seemingly big gap in ticket sales. "Kim Il-sung's Children" has played on merely 12 screens. The Australian film has been screened nine times more than the Korean documentary but the former's ticket sales are four times higher than that of the latter.
An official from one of the big three multiplex theaters said the allotment of screens for each movie is the result of comprehensive analysis by theaters.
"I would say all things are considered to allocate screens for movies," he told The Korea Times asking for anonymity since he is not authorized to speak to the media. "The scale of investment is one of the factors we consider when selecting movies to show because the completeness of films is associated with how much money spent on them. We also take surveys of the selected moviegoers to find if they're willing to watch the movie in question."
Once screening is confirmed and the movie is showing, he said, theaters try to check how long they will be screened. "We look at various factors at this stage. Reservation rates, the number of tickets sold and reviews from those who watched the movies are some of the factors we are looking at," he said. "Competitiveness of forthcoming movies is another variable to determine how long the chosen films will be screened. If well-made movies highly likely to become box office hits are scheduled to be screened, chances are high that screens set aside for older movies will be decreased."
He said the selections of movies to be screened and how long they will be shown for are determined by market force, noting there is no room for political consideration.
