Film Fest Tips: Hire A Sales Agent

Last week we touched on the importance of hiring the services of a publicist before embarking on your festival journey. This week we’ll be highlighting the talents of a sales agent. Bottom line, if you’re looking for general audiences to see your work, you’ll need this person in your corner at the festivals. And here noted sales rep Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company will be dishing out some advice. Presiding over The Film Sales Company since he ran the acquisitions for Miramax for six years in the late ‘90s, Herwitz’s company has sold over 175 films for domestic and international distribution. Some standouts include (pictured above), Night Catches Us, Waitress and Marwencol.

Why should a film selected to Sundance (or any major festival) hire a sales agent? Sales agents serve many important functions including bringing films to the attention of distributors before a given festival, helping to craft "messaging" about the film to be disseminated to industry and press and of course strategizing with the filmmaker as to how best to exploit the film and then negotiating the deal(s) to do so. I think it also now the case that the industry may now consider that films that are un-representented at a given festival may have been passed over by various sales agents because they are uncommercial. Often this is not the case, but that does not change the perception. How is it that you find the films you take on? We actively track films and filmmakers throughout the year, get a lot of referrals and work on subsequent films of filmmakers we have previously worked with. What are some of the materials you expect from a film's producer when you come on to rep them? The film and hopefully some stills. Anything beyond that is great but we can usually help them create what they need. What should a filmmaker ALWAYS do when working with you? Communicate clearly what his or her goals for the film are. Waste money on a party. The range and types of deal vary dramatically from film to film. When picking a sales agent, get a good sense of how many other films the company is bringing to the festival and get examples of how the company handled sales of films that did not get snatched up during a festival. You want someone who will be a zealous, persistent and dogged advocate until the best home(s) are secured.