Agora Talks: Jan Rofekamp
The Agora Talks of the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival kicked off on Sunday June 27th, as Jan Rofekamp shared his list of dos and don’ts when submitting a project to a documentary market or presenting it to potential partners.
Mr. Rofekamp expressed his regret for not being able to travel to Thessaloniki and warmly saluted the Festival’s audience in Greek. He started his presentation by comparing today’s documentary landscape with the situation in the 80s, when he made the very first steps of his career. He mentioned: “Documentaries were screened in film festivals, but there were no documentary-oriented festivals. Nowadays, more than 150 very significant documentary festivals are taking place worldwide, as well as numerous thematic festivals. At the same time, there are at least 40 sales agents working in the documentary field, whereas more than 1,000 documentaries are released every year through festivals”.
Later on, Mr. Rofekamp pointed out a crucial dilemma that every creator is called to face when he accomplishes a project: Should he take on the time-consuming promotion procedure of the project or should he contact a sales agent or a special consultant for this task? As to sales agents, there is no official list with their names. A number of them focus on more expensive and high-profile productions, whereas others are oriented in more conventional kind of documentaries (history, science, environment documentaries etc.) You may contact directors and producers who have already collaborated with a sales agent, in order for you to collect information and impressions”, he stated.
Afterwards, Mr. Rofekamp analyzed the two facets of the documentary market, each having a different time frame. “The so-called primary market is of a short “life span” and is linked to the very moment the movie is released in festivals, movie theatres and broadcast networks. On the other hand, the secondary market revolves around the long-term course of the film in the festival circuit, the online market (streaming and platforms) and the participation in educational projects and programs. It is extremely important to clarify, from the very start, the sales agent’s intentions. Furthermore, you may also cooperate with two different sales agents, one charged with the film’s promotion in North America, and the other one focusing on the rest of the world”.
In case a director decides to pull it off by himself, with no sales agents involved, there are several tips he or she has to take into account according to Jan Rofekamp: “Your main priority is to convince the buyer that your movie corresponds to his/her target group. Documentary market may seem vast, but if we take a closer look, it is clear that socio-political documentaries are in demand mostly in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, whereas South America, the rest of Asia and Africa cannot be deemed as potential markets. What in fact happens is that these countries have minimum or zero tradition in public broadcast, which usually promotes documentaries. Even if you achieve to sell your documentary in a country such as Chile or Thailand, you will sell it at a very low price”.
Next, Jan Rofekamp raised the issue of the theatrical distribution of documentaries, urging directors to trace distribution companies that show a preference in documentaries. The festival landscape for documentaries was the next topic to pop up: “There are 4-5 top-notch festivals serving as an ideal launch pad for a movie. Your next target may be the 5-6 leading documentary festivals that can become valuable credential for a movie. If your documentary celebrates its premiere in Nyon, in Munich, in Barcelona or in Warsaw, it’s set for a good start. Finally, in case your movie falls into a certain thematic category, you may search for relevant festivals worldwide. For example, there is an extremely well-organized festival network for movies or documentaries related to human rights or to ecological issues”.
Apart from the festival network, broadcast television and movie theatres, there’s also vast world of online streaming. Jan Rofekamp gives a warning: “I have the feeling that producers must be very careful. There are numerous online platforms out there that have nothing to do with giants like Netflix or Amazon. In my opinion, the biggest problem is the lack of proper promotion of the films from their part. Going back to the sales agents, their approach on the digital online markets reveals a lot for their work quality. The real key is to track down all internet communities that would potentially be interested in your movie’s topic”.
Mr. Rofekamp continued with his argumentation by pointing out some simple steps that could attract potential buyers. “There are three basic steps: a logline, a short synopsis and a trailer. Even if your movie’s thematic revolves around a local story, you should find the way to give a universal touch. As to the trailer, I prefer the word “demo” because it is very important to give all the information needed. The trailer for the buyer or the funder must be different from the trailer aimed at festivals or a distribution company. In the first case, what counts is the accuracy of information. In the second case, the aim is to fascinate your audience and arouse its curiosity”.
Unsurprisingly, Jan Rofekamp made a special reference to Netflix, highlighting three important elements: “Firstly, Netflix recently revealed hiring representatives in several countries, who conduct reports, mapping out the local film landscape of each country. This is very important because it gets easier for a director to get in contact with Netflix, even if these local representatives have no decision-making responsibilities. Secondly, we should never forget that Netflix prefers owning movies than buying them. Thirdly, Netflix executives take every chance they get to let everyone know that Netflix is part of the entertainment industry. As a result, for a documentary to be bought by Netflix, it certainly needs to fall into that category.
Mr. Rofekamp concluded by saying a few things about the way the pandemic influenced film festivals, shedding light onto an unexpected positive upside: “As much as it is sad for a director not to be in contact with his movie viewers, ever since festivals have been taking place online, movies are available worldwide, with no territorial restrictions, and for a longer period of time. This way, the Festival’s viewers are rapidly increasing”.
