#4: Selling the documentary film - pt.1

We visit two time Oscar nominated documentary film production company Spring Films. This is the first of two conversations we have with their Head of global development Figs Jackman about commissioning documentary films. Hosted by Karoline Pelikan (@PelikanPictures) and Paul Hulligan (@paulhully). ----------------------- Episode guide: 00:32 - Introductions 01:14 - Getting to know Fig's: backstory, advice and current role at Spring Films 08:36 - Identifying your audience and who you are going to sell it to 14:34 - What makes a good story 17:22 - Selling foreign films 19:23 - The economic realities of funding a film 21:41 - The first step, creating a teaser and package 23:46 - The importance of being flexible, having a realistic budget and an impactful teaser 26:31 - Creating a teaser before you’ve filmed anything 30:42 - What Spring Films look for when being pitched to 33:39 - More about funding your film 38:16 - Pushing the package: sales agents, pitching and getting meetings, UK and US 44:55 - The importance of compromising on your idea for the film 46:23 - Promoting your film via festivals 48:30 - The importance of self publicity / ‘social media’ 50:56 - Final advice and tips for getting your film commissioned 54:49 - The best way to approach Spring Films