Why Distribute?
To say that I have been resistant to self distributing my film, would be the understatement of the year. I am a filmmaker, I make films that hopefully move or somehow inspire something, anything. I am not, however, a distributor, that is not where my talents or desires lie.
It was last summer in the midst of trying to finish my latest film, Change is Gonna Come, three years in, out of money and vowing never to write another grant application, I read Think and Grow Rich. The book suggests finding a product to sell so I can raise money, in my case to finish my film. As I pondered this, I looked around my office and sitting on my bookshelf is my product– my first film The Smith Family, ready and waiting to be sold and distributed.
I finally got it, we create films so they can be seen and utilized. And what better way than to have them seen and used in the educational market with professors asking the hard questions, and students retorting right back with even more provocative questions. Getting people talking, was the very reason we made the film in the first place.
I am doing not only Change is Gonna Come, a disservice but also all those who haven’t yet experienced The Smith Family, all the professors who can use the film in their classroom to stimulate discussion about homosexuality, religion, AIDS, HIV, family, marriage, fidelity, faith, forgiveness, unconditional love.
The responses of how this film is used in the classroom never ceases to blow my mind, from dentists to nurses, to social workers. Used in ways I couldn’t have dreamed up, affecting lives and changing perspective in ways that force me to continue telling stories.
So, if I have to devout a portion of my brain power to stretching in ways I once believed I was incapable of, to reach my goal to make a difference and affect lives, then I will write that newsletter, learn to blog and build those lists.
Because I am a filmmaker, intensely passionate about what I do, I’m learning to be an entrepreneur so others can actually experience my work and make their own choices.
Tasha is based in Venice, California where, when not lamenting or filming, she plots and plans volunteer vacations in Africa, Cuba, Thailand and other remote corners of the world.
Tasha Oldham
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