Tentpole ‘Film Market’ Elevates Networking and Sales
Los Angeles, CA (July 19, 2022) – The third edition of Filmocracy Fest presented a strong lineup of features and shorts competing for top prizes, both in person and online, including the Best of the Fest category, which was available online-only. The Festival ended with a celebratory Awards Ceremony on July 17. Award Winners include:
Best Narrative Feature: 1-800-HOT NITE written and directed by Nick Richey
Best Documentary Feature: HOSTILE written and directed by Sonita Gale
Best Short Narrative: THESE HANDS WERE MADE FOR KNOCKIN’ directed by Laura Herring
Best Short Documentary: ELSA directed by Cameron Mitchell
Best Student Film: HAIR, TIE, EGG, HOMEWORK, BOOKS by Lu Runxiao
Audience Award – Narrative Feature: BUCK ALAMO written and directed by Ben Epstein
Audience Award – Documentary Feature: ART AND KRIMES BY KRIMES by Alysa Nahmias
Audience Award – Short: GROUNDED directed by Jesse Richards
Inspiration Award: THE HUMAN TRIAL directed by Lisa Hepner and Guy Mossman
The Festival also presented the second edition of its Film Market, a curated environment for independent filmmakers to come together and connect with industry leaders. This unique event streamlines the film acquisition process, removing intermediaries and allowing talent to present their work directly to executives. In its successful first edition, films were acquired and brought to Cannes for sales opportunities and distribution deals.
“I participated in the first Filmocracy virtual market and found it to be so productive and enjoyable that I didn’t hesitate to participate in the next one (and more ongoing in the future),” recalls Archstone Entertainment’s Jack Sheehan. “Not only was I impressed by the tech and the ease, efficacy, and intuitiveness of the platform, it seemed to flow almost effortlessly. I was lucky enough to find several projects I liked, one of which I actually closed a deal on and brought to the physical Cannes festival a month later, and we’re closing a multitude of deals, to both our and the filmmaker’s delight. I think this platform is top of the competition of virtual markets and will be a mainstay for years to come. Selfishly I hope not too many of my competitors find out about it!”
The number of participating buyers, sales agents, and distribution companies grew significantly since the last event. The robust list of participants for the second edition included some of the largest global film companies: Sundance, Endeavor Content, Blue Fox, 13 Film, XYZ Films, The Exchange, Radiant Films International, and Periphery, amongst many others. Some of the films up for sale included Steve Balderson’s ALCHEMY OF THE SPIRIT, Nicholas deKay’s THE ARK OF LILBURN, Austin Chapman’s LACRIMOSA, Christine Yoo’s 26.2 TO LIFE: THE SAN QUENTIN PRISON MARATHON, and Katie O’Regan’s GOOD MORNING MISS AMERICA. Amidst films picked up by top-name companies are Daniel Diosdad’s THE NOMAD (for international sales by Archstone Entertainment) and Juan P. Reyes’ SAMLAND (for South Korean rights by Strana Media), with negotiations ongoing for many more projects.
Liquid Media Group’s Co-Founder and Interim CEO Joshua Jackson shares, “Liquid Media is very proud to be, for the second time, presenting sponsors of Filmocracy Fest. It is core to what we do to be able to support emerging storytellers, emerging voices, inside of our community. I’ve always felt very proud and very lucky to be part of this big, wild, funny, crazy—sometimes difficult—global community of storytellers, whether in front of the camera or behind it. Filmocracy Fest exists to uplift the community, to make it easier for us to find each other and our audiences, and the addition of the market is an amazing new tool for filmmakers. We couldn’t be happier to support this and look forward to seeing you at the next one.”
Film Market attendees paid a nominal fee of $100, with a VIP option available for $500 that allowed passholders to skip queues. The in-person portion of the event kicked off with a cocktail party, followed by initial meetings at LA Gondola. The following day, filmmakers had four minutes to rapid-fire pitch their films to their preferred media partners, either in person or digitally. Attendees were also invited to Opening Night of Filmocacy Fest to celebrate their cinematic achievements.
“I had a great time attending the Filmocracy Film Market,” says Los Angeles-based writer/director/producer Debbie Peiser. “Filmocracy created an amazing virtual experience from start to finish. I loved that they sent a brochure of which distributors would be attending so I could research and prepare before my meetings. It was so fun to sit in the virtual waiting room with other filmmakers. I was so impressed by the site design and I would definitely attend again!”
The Filmocracy Fest Film Market has established itself, in a very short time, as a vibrant and highly sought-after marketplace for the discovery of films and filmmaking talent by top name producers, distributors, and production companies. Filmocracy’s CEO Paul Jun concludes, “Our Film Market is filling an important need in the industry by putting filmmakers face-to-face with decisionmakers. Through our virtual platform we’re able to foster industry relationships for filmmakers who lack a professional network.”
About Filmocracy:
Filmocracy is a film and festival streaming platform that hosts over 100 film festivals each year and has a constantly evolving and rotating library of more than 3,500 streaming titles. Users are rewarded with virtual popcorn for watching and rating films, which can be spent in their shop to earn movie tickets, redeem gift cards, or attend virtual film festivals hosted from around the world. Filmocracy brings together a powerful combination of technologies to enhance the virtual cinema and conference experience for filmmakers, industry professionals, and audiences around the world. Filmocracy’s mission is to help all independent filmmakers reach wider audiences and grow their communities through storytelling. Festival Co-Founder Paul Jun serves as CEO of Filmocracy. In December 2020, Filmocracy staged the First Annual Filmocracy Fest, an all-digital juried film festival presenting a slate of 44 films; panels; mentorship program; live performances; script readings; cause-related partners; and dozens of virtual conversations with directors and industry talent. Jon Fitzgerald serves as Executive Director.