“I Will Follow,", a quiet, slice of life drama will be something of a test case. It will be the first film released through The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM), a grass roots organization looking to increase exposure and get theatrical distribution for African-American independent movies. The film will open in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Seattle.
Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, “I Will Follow” tells the story of a grieving woman (Salli Richardson-Whitfield from “I am Legend” and “Antwone Fisher”) struggling with the death of a loved one, and the 12 visitors who try to help her move on with her life. The movie examines family dynamics and the complications of relationships.
DuVernay, who started her career in the film industry as a publicist and has worked on big budget titles like “Dream Girls” and “Cop Out,” funded the film herself (“I just looked at my bank account and said that’s what the budget is,” she said with a laugh), and completed the indie experience by working with a mostly volunteer crew. While the film was shot using a borrowed camera and there was a tight, 15 day shooting schedule, the movie certainly doesn’t suffer for it. And in addition to Richardson-Whitfield, the cast also includes Omari Hardwick (“For Colored Girls”), Dijon Talton (“Glee”), and Blair Underwood.
It also helps that as AFFRM’s first release, “I Will Follow” has been getting positive reviews, and was an Official Selection of AFI Fest, the Chicago International Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival, BronzeLens, and Winner of the Narrative Audience Award at Urbanworld. And of course, DuVernay’s experience as a publicist (she now runs her own agency) comes in handy as she tries to market and promote the film. The New York Times’ Michael Cieply did a write up on the film and AFFRM after DuVernay reached out.
The mainstream film world has always followed the money, and now, even more so, as distribution platforms change, the studio world constricts (as with the recent bankruptcy of MGM and its subsequent corporate restructuring) and the worldwide economy remains sluggish. One of the segments that has felt the squeeze is African- American cinema. While a filmmaker like Tyler Perry continues to be successful, he’s one of the few examples. Mainstream, black themed films have all but disappeared in recent years. And as independent film in general continues to maintain its precarious toehold in the pecking order, African-American independent film, aside from the black film festival circuit, is barely on the radar, and distribution remains a challenge—to say the least.
Enter AFFRM, the brainchild of DuVernay and organizers of some of the black film festivals. Their goal is simple: to eventually release two films a year; quality independent movies from black filmmakers and aimed at black audiences that would otherwise languish in distribution limbo. DuVernay said that the idea came to her as she was hitting the festival circuit with her documentary “My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth about Women in Hip-Hop.”
“It was an ‘aha’ moment. I had a self-distributed hip-hop documentary that I made that did really well on the festival circuit, and I played this really vibrant, beautiful, robust black film festival circuit,” she said. “There's one in every market. They’re well organized, they show great films, {and they have} passionate volunteers. The people are excited to see the films and talk to filmmakers; and I didn’t know of this whole world, that as a mainstream publicist that does Cannes, Telluride and Toronto I hadn't really known until I had my own film on that circuit.”
It was her thought to use the festivals as a distribution arm and premiere films in these markets, which already had built in black audiences where independent film was doing well. By tapping into the expertise of the promoters in these markets (DuVernay’s mind as a publicist working again), there would be the possibility that some of these films would go on to see meaningful distribution.
“This is an amazing but hidden circuit and what if they all got together and said, ‘we're going to support a picture on the same day.’ It was from being out there in these markets and at these film festivals seeing how great they were and thinking no one knows about these, and wouldn’t it be something really amazing if they all came together as a collective,” DuVernay said. “The idea just developed and I approached all of them and they were all very excited about the idea. Imagine presenting films at your film festival, year after year and knowing that they really probably were never going to go anywhere. No one at your festival acquiring these films. Knowing that you're packing the house, knowing that people are loving the films, and knowing that there aren’t high prospects for life after the festival circuit.”
It’s not a simple, one size fits all solution, and DuVernay recognizes that. It’s also not only about reaching black audiences, but a big part of it is about increasing the presence of these underrepresented independent filmmakers and exposing them to a wider audience and doing away with some of the niches that are so apparent in the film world.
“I think it's a really fascinating time in black independent film right now and I hope the opening carries over into the general market independent world,” DuVernay said. “It has been a challenge for us to reach out to people who just love art house films who may not necessarily view these films because they’re black, but they are good films. We happen to be black, but it's just as good as anything else that you're seeing out there,” she said. “I just hope the art house film lovers, indie film lovers just kind of patronize everything, whether it's Latino films or LGBT films or black films. It kind of seems that we’re a little bit segmented.”
As DuVernay and AFFRM work to increase the presence and distribution of black independent movies, she would also like to see black audiences exposed to a wider range of independent film in general, something that has never really been offered.
“Let's just let there be a diversity of voices and can we start this whole idea of a black independent aesthetic in cinema and can we actually get those films in front of general black audiences,” DuVernay said. “For me it is not enough off to have the handful of elite that go to the local art house cinema. I'm really trying to reach my mom and my sisters (DuVernay points out that where her relatives live, there are few art house theaters in urban areas for them to even be exposed to independent film) and folks that want to be enriched by independent film but they just don't have access. So that’s really what AFFRM’s about--trying to bring the small black film that otherwise wouldn't have a theatrical life in front of a wider cross-section of black people and film lovers in general. It’s a new idea trying to put things forward on our side of things.”
While the two films a year that AFFRM plans to release may seem like a small number, keep in mind that these are films that more than likely would not have seen even a limited distribution deal from a mainstream studio. And DuVernay is excited about the number and the quality of films that are being submitted.
“It is really about audience development, literally about building something. Our commitment as a collective is to release two films a year. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you think about it in five years we could release 10 films otherwise would not have seen a theatrical light of day,” she said. “It's really exciting. We've had no lack of interest from filmmakers. We have about 24 films that are clamoring to be the second release of 2011.The decisions will be made by the heads of all the African-American film festivals, together they will say, ‘You know what? This filmmaker has a voice and we want to support this film.'”
While she hopes that AFFRM can grow and sustain itself, DuVernay says that the current plan is to focus on their two films a year plan, and only on theatrical distribution. She’s been in talks with some of the larger indie festivals, but the collective is committed to putting these films on the big screen. That’s not to say it won’t help a film down the road once its theatrical run ends.
“Our mission is to provide theatrical releases for high quality black independent films for limited engagements, to give these films a theatrical life which then helps them in all the ancillary negotiations,” she said. “Now you're no longer direct to DVD; you’re theatrical to DVD. That's a different price point you're negotiating. It’s not direct to VOD; you’re theatrical to VOD.”
So the ultimate question is whether AFFRM can have success distributing these films. As “I Will Follow” gets ready to open, DuVernay sees the possibilities, and knows a solid plan has been put in place.
“Can these organizations, these like-minded grassroots organizations open a film like a Sony, like a Paramount? Really, why not like a Strand or like a Zeitgeist or Music Box, these small companies that open in L.A. or New York? Can’t we do that? Can't we open in L.A. and New York? Let's throw in Atlanta and Philly; let’s see if we can do five markets (Seattle being the fifth), so that's the idea,” she said. “We’re going to give it a try and see what happens. We start small, stay concentrated, and we stay focused and we see if it works. So that's the challenge.”
For more information and ticket buying information, visit http://www.affrm.com
