We Did It -- Distribution

Well, I can finally say that WE DID IT. The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah, a feature film that I directed in summer of 2005 and which had its premiere on the festival circuit in April 2006, will be released on DVD in North America this fall by Reel Indies, an indie film division of Mill Creek Entertainment. The deal was signed this summer.

This represents a huge achievement (in my eyes, anyway). The film was made for almost nothing, with no big stars, and the crew was comprised mostly of students in the film and digital media program at Baylor University, where I teach.

And now, that little film about a crazy guy who thinks he is a messiah will be in major retail stores like Wal Mart, Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy and available for rental on Netflix.
I was about to say that this is a nice end result to this process, but in fact it's not the end. It's the first step in distribution.

The deal is only for North American DVD distribution and worldwide digital/internet distribution, so foreign rights are still available, as well as television, cable, and theatrical. My hope is that, in addition to selling lots of copies and making some money, this will open up other distribution doors, as well as legitimizing my efforts to make another film.

And I want to just say publicly, to those who worked on the film and to those who have been supporters in some way (festival programmers, fans, readers, etc.): thank you for your support. The process of making and distributing a film is often a disheartening one. But each victory along the way keeps you going as you reach out for the proverbial golden ring.