Pusan's Asian Film Market, a convention-style forum where independent producers and film distributors come to find each other, did not yield the kind of results seen in years past (though several attendees had higher hopes for next month's Tokyo film festival market). There simply were not as many eager investors for the final product - despite the amount of time and heart that certainly went into each project - and without distribution, these projects have little chance of earning back the artist's personal investment (of time and self, among other things). 

This Sunday my boyfriend and I went out for pizza with a friend and independent producer (and film professor), John, who is currently in the thick of finding a distributor for a feature-length project. Shot in Chicago in 2005, "Riff Raff" was first submitted to competitions in 2007, and won a "best supporting actor" award at a small European festival that year. In 2008 and 2009, John's production company continued submitting to festivals. When they couldn't find a distributor, they took on the task themselves, and the film has screened in various theaters around the Midwest. 

It has been a lot of work and a painstaking process, and John is still looking for a distributor - that is, a company or person who does business with theaters and film retailers and can get "Riff Raff" in front of the eyes of an audience. The first step is the festival circuit, but widespread technological advances and a simpler process of online submission has caused an inundation of festival applicants in recent years. With more competition, it's harder to get accepted, and if you can't get accepted to larger domestic festivals, it is difficult to make the necessary contacts for widespread distribution. 

This summer, "Riff Raff" made its Chicago debut at the Siskel Film Center and received positive reviews from local public radio and alternative press. Still no distributor. And on it goes. 

This is where the film market, it would seem, plays an important role. Like the Asian Film Market at Pusan, an American Film Market is held each year in Los Angeles during the fall. Films that have tough luck on festival admission still have the option to work this angle, and I have heard success stories from the L.A. event. With this year's results at Pusan, however, prospects at the American and Tokyo Film Markets are looking grim. There just don't seem to be as many risk-taking distributors as there may have been in previous (more prosperous) times. 

An increase in the sheer volume of films produced each year around the world means it is more difficult for individual artists to set themselves apart from the crowd. And as enthusiasm (and funding) diminishes among film distributors, the market is becoming increasingly cutthroat. As seems to be the case in so many art and media industries these days: as part of the process is simplified, the rest of it seems to become quite a bit more difficult. 

Festivals and film markets will have to adapt to the new nature of the industry if they wish to continue providing the independent filmmaker with access to an audience. The reigning pattern in recent seasons has been a tendency for investors and distributors to play it safe by supporting a "known quantity." That is, the entertainment franchises that have already earned a popular following -- "Star Trek," "G.I. Joe," and comic book stories, to name a few examples. 

As the audience, perhaps it is our responsibility in this climate to demand something new, and to not be complacent with franchise media. If we, the audience, are the missing link in the filmmaking process, then we need to offer our voice to the mix. Maybe it's time we go to market, too.