# Thoughts on Distribution | Road To L'Etape Du Tour

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- Published at: 2024-07-12 16:14:20 UTC
- Updated at: 2025-07-18 00:12:25 UTC

## Author
Julia Coulter

## Subject
Road To L'Etape Du Tour

## Content
Soon we will have filmed the movie…so then what happens?No two independent films are the same, and neither are their distribution plans. From the research that we’ve done, this is our plan to get our movie started:We’ll wrap filming by September and then will send the raw footage and sound to our editing team ASAP. Once they do a first pass of edits, it will also be sent to our composer who will start to write the music. We’ll also reach out to a few artists about songs we’d like to use in the film (two of which are by artists from the Upper Valley area, where we’re filming). The process to perfect the film, when all is said and done, can take 4-6 months.During this time, we’ll also begin preparing assets for marketing and film festivals, like a trailer, posters, other photography, subtitles, and bonus content. These can be similarly time consuming, but extremely important. We plan to complete both the edit and content creation by April 2025.Film Festival (hopefully hit it big): With film festivals, there is always a chance that we get accepted into a big festival, which usually causes a chain reaction of other festivals (they all talk), and the chances for it to gain momentum and have some distribution offers that makes our money back and then some! We have made a comprehensive list of the best festivals in the US and internationally, and we will lean heavily on festivals on the East Coast given the backdrop of the film. Of course, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to film festivals, but we will always include a cover letter with each submission, and everywhere we have relationships with festivals, we will make a point to make them aware of those connections.To give you an idea of what those festivals are:Tribeca - One of our lead actors, Brian Muller, was the lead in a TV show that premiered there. Our 1st AD had a short film she was part of play there.Austin Film Festival - The script for this film got into the second round at Austin.Sundance - The script for the film got into the second round of the development track, and one of our leads, Kyle Secor, most recent feature premiered at Sundance in 2022.New Hampshire Film Festival - My short film screened there in 2022.BFI London - I have connections to London having trained as an actor at one of the top drama schools in the UK.New York Film FestivalSlamdanceLonely Wolf Film Festival - My short film was a first-time director nominee here.Reel Abilities - Our casting director is a board member for this festival.SXSWTIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)Venice International Film FestivalBerlin International Film Festival…And Many MoreDistribution companies:We have complied a list of over 30 distribution companies, some of which we will be able to directly send our film to. However, you can run into certain issues with this route: funds earned from VOD rentals and sales are split with distribution partners AND distribution companies don’t always do much to market the film, which is why it is important to have the film play at festivals to get the word out. We’ll work with distribution companies tactically, and and budget for our own marketing plan.Film Festival + Self Distribution: This combines the two methods above and if it works well gets us the most money back (assuming a large distribution company doesn’t swoop in and make a us an attractive offer). We would still follow the same festival route and ideally get into one or two larger festivals. Using that momentum, we will apply to programs that would help us with international distribution (we are hopeful that the story’s ties to the Tour de France will help our popularity internationally). We will also build relationships with art house theaters for a possible limited theatrical release at independent cinemas around the country (focusing again initially on the East Coast).After going after these two theatrical release avenues, we would then make a plan for our digital release, ideally right after our theatrical run or after a weekend theatrical screening if that ends up being the route we go. For this, as well as the trailer release date, we would run a paid marketing campaign targeting the core communities we believe the film will speak to: those with heart defects and the cycling community. Building this community of followers will help lead to rentals and purchases once it hits the streaming platforms.There are lots of nuances, and one successful festival can change it all, but, we will be doing everything in our power to get the film out to as many people as possible.We are just a little over a month away from filming! Please continue to spread the word about our film!Thank you,Julia