Have you produced a short film that you want to distribute?  If so, New York City-based RJD Productions Entertainment Division wants to hear from you! As of July 2009, RJD Productions Entertainment’s co-founders Joanna Rudolph and Russell Dreher are accepting short film submissions of any length and genre. Their mission: to help independent filmmakers blaze trails and provide a forum for film lovers to discover them.

RJD’s Dreher explains, "Using Createspace, we’re putting together themed compilations and making them available for sale on DVD. Since Amazon.com owns Createspace, the DVD is automatically available for sale on this retail giant’s website, as well. Furthermore, Amazon.com makes the compilations available for sale via Direct-to-Download. All of this can be found on our website, which links directly to the Createspace and Amazon purchase pages." 

Rudolph adds, "We see this as a great opportunity for filmmakers to generate some revenue while developing a fan base for their work. Not only does each compilation have its own identifiable target audience, the content is substantial. This way the consumer gets to watch an hour and a half of content versus, let’s say, fifteen minutes of content, which is a frequent running time for a short film."

Dreher and Rudolph conceived this idea after submitting their own work on the film festival circuit. In order to gain exposure during and beyond the film festivals, they found they had to do their own marketing. And if offered a distribution deal post festival run, the company demanded exclusive rights.

"By surrendering their rights, filmmakers are in essence disempowering themselves.  The distribution company collects the names and contact information of fans, not the filmmaker. In turn, they become disconnected from their fan base.” states Rudolph.

Rudolph continues, “What makes us unique is that we offer a non-exclusive deal to filmmakers, and we want to share our mailing lists with the filmmakers, provided we get permission from the consumer. Should the filmmaker make a sale via Createspace, we split the revenue 50/50 with him/her. We are also building a community where filmmakers use social media and email channels to cultivate ever-growing audiences and cooperatively promote work to fans of a theme or genre."

Dreher feels strongly that filmmakers who retain rights to their work and are involved in their marketing gain major advantages. "By cultivating a fan base and a marketing skill set early on in their careers, filmmakers will be in a better position to get their feature length films produced and distributed."

Dreher elaborates, "It is RJD’s goal to become the leader in short film distribution, for the public to view us as the place to go for quality short films, and for upcoming filmmakers to be discovered via our website. We see ourselves as part curator, part distributor.”

At IFP’s Independent Film Week Film Producer, Ted Hope, said it is an exciting time to be a shorts filmmaker.  Rudolph agrees.  “Just look at the box office success of DISTRICT 9, which started as a short and got developed into a feature-length film."
For legal and royalty reasons, RJD Productions Entertainment Division is currently only able to work with filmmakers based in the United States.  That said, if you are a US-based filmmaker and interested in this opportunity, go to www.RJDProEntertainment.com where the submission form and license agreement are available for download. 

RJD’s Website: www.rjdproentertainment.com
Follow RJD’s Blog at:  http://rjdpro.wordpress.com/
Join RJD’s Facebook Group Page:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=121247727796

Edited by Jennifer Polak, Freelance Writer and Marketing Professional