when this movie is chosen it must be backed by everyone (well at least most) in the community
I agree that spreading the collective word on good indie movies is in everyone's best interest, but I think you're aiming your marketing at the wrong people. The indie filmmaking community by itself is too small to represent a real opportunity to get a return on your film. It's the film buying public, the arthouse cinema goers, the TV watchers that really matter.
Ultimately for the indie filmaker you are marketing your film to just a couple of hundred people, the buyers for the distribution companies, the sales agents and the press. The distribution companies just want to believe that they can make a return from your film, the TV buyers want to see more back from advertising than it cost to buy your film and the press need an angle that well help them sell more papers/magazines and to advertising onto their radio/TV station.
I read somewhere that once you get past the surface all jobs are basically sales jobs. This is doubly true in the film industry. The reason that so many indies struggle to get pictures made and distributed is because they pay insufficient attention to what's involved in selling.
Actually selling is really easy providing you know the rules.
1) If you don't speak to people about your product they won't buy it
2) If you don't speak to the people who are in a position to say yes to the sale they won't buy it (In sales this person is called the decision maker, this is the person who can yes to the buy, whereas everyone below them can only say no)
3) If you don't understand what it is about your product that is going to help the buyer achieve their personal/professional goals and ambitions you won't make a sale.
4) If you listen to a person long enough, instead of taliking, eventually they'll tell you what they need to hear to buy from you.
5) If someone is prepared to sit across a desk from you 99% of the time they are prepared to buy if the deal is right.
6) Know what your bottom line price is before you walk through the door and don't drop below that unless they put something on the table that make no impossible (No body respects someone who doesn't value their product)
The thing about htis formula is that it applies equally to investors as it does to distributors. Failure to find either funding or distribution is about not having one of the above steps covered.
So,
a) If you haven't actually asked anyone for funding/distribution (waiting of the magic elves), you won't get it
b) If you waste your time ptiching to people who have neither the authority or the ability to say yes to funding or distribution you won't get it. So, If you take send your gore horror film to a distributor who only distributes family animation, guess what.
c) If you don't understand how the investor/distributor is going to make a profit from your film then your pitch about the gorund braking cinematograpy is going to acheive nothing. 99% of the time understand how the distributor makes their profit is the key to selling.
d) If you don't know, but are prepared to ask simple grown up questions like "So, what do need from a movie for it to rock your world?" you might make a sale.
e) It's really true that every funder is looking for the golden goose and every distributor is looking for the next big thing, and they really want it to be you, other wise they wouldn't bother talking to you.
f) A film is worth what someone will pay for it, if you roll over on whatever price is offered rather than being seen as accomodating the value of the product will come under question.
I know for myself that I can look at the above list and tell you exactly why I haven't got either funding or distribution for my next film. Not enough of 1 or 2 because I haven't got a clear hook on 3.
I'm telling you baby the same is true of most indies. Not enough face to face converstaions with the right people with the right products to offer them.
Bottom line is that what I'm saying is that before anyone goes out and trys to invent a new indsutry maybe we should learn how to do business in this one. Or at least have the common sense to recognise that we don't have those skills and form working relationships with producers who do have those skills.
) IF you mean rally around A FILM, not necessarily YOUR FILM, then I can see how your intent is to really come up with a way to change things and that is an important thing....