REEL DEAL: IRISH FILM IN THE US MARKETPLACE
The marketplace for Irish films in the US was another panel session which took place at the Reel Deal seminar. The speakers included Sarah Lash (IFC Entertainment), Bingham Ray, Lynn Holst (Hallmark Entertainment) and Eamonn Bowles (Magnolia Pictures).Lash, who distributed INTERMISSION in the US, made the point that there isn’t a typical “Irish American” audience in the US, this demographic doesn’t particularly come out to see Irish movies. She also emphasised avoiding such liabilities such as un-impenetrable accents and the importance of having the cast available to promote the film when selling distributing features in foreign territories.
Hallmark, who have been focusing on epic stories such a Hercules for the last few years, announced that they are now moving into SCI-FI, feeding channels such as the SCI-FI Channel in the US and are looking further a field for new content.
All speakers emphasised the importance of packaging even low-budget films and focusing on their originality. Also it was emphasised that the independent distributors are looking for a guarantee in the form of actors that can deliver an audience. They also pointed out that there was often more money in Europe that the US for funding Irish films.