In this special episode, Alex Stolz is joined by Elin Boijens (Searchers, Netherlands) and Giulia Amadio (BIM Distribuzione, Italy), two participants in Distributors on the Move , Europa Distribution’s pioneering professional exchange programme. Together, they reflect on the transformative impact of spending time embedded within each other’s companies and exploring the day-to-day realities of film distribution in a different market. Giulia and Elin dive deep into the structural and strategic con...
Jul 10, 2025•44 min
In this episode of The Marketing and Distribution Podcast , host Alex Stolz welcomes Jackie Brenneman — a trailblazer in the cinema industry and President & CEO of Attend Theatrical Marketplace, Jackie shares the journey behind ATTEND, the groundbreaking platform she helped launch to empower filmmakers and exhibitors through smarter, more transparent theatrical distribution. A founding partner of The Fithian Group, Jackie brings years of leadership in policy, legal advocacy, and industry inn...
Jun 10, 2025•42 min
In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast , host Alex Stolz is joined by Ana Maria Jipa and Malcolm Wood, co-founders of Olyn, a new digital platform aiming to redefine how independent films are released and monetized. Drawing on their backgrounds in technology, entrepreneurship, and film production, Ana and Malcolm discuss how Olyn seeks to provide filmmakers with direct-to-consumer tools — enabling them to maintain ownership, access audience data, and control the viewing experi...
Apr 29, 2025•41 min
"Community isn’t just the audience—it is the audience. And that shift in thinking is where real change begins." – Shawn Dawes In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast , Alex Stolz is joined by filmmaker, producer, and platform founder Shawn Dawes , the visionary behind IndieScene —a new SaaS-based platform aiming to transform the independent film ecosystem through transparency, data, and community collaboration. With over 20 years in the creative industries—ranging from directin...
Apr 03, 2025•46 min
In this episode, Alex Stolz is joined by Guy Bisson, Executive Director at Ampere Analysis, a leading firm in media and entertainment analytics. Guy brings over two decades of expertise in the global TV, film, and entertainment industries, offering unparalleled insights into the transformations reshaping content creation, distribution, and consumption. Together, they dive deep into the challenges and opportunities facing today’s entertainment landscape. Guy explores the ongoing impact of streami...
Mar 20, 2025•44 min
"Our goal is to make every theatrical release feel like an event." Lynne Schmidt, SVP Operations and Strategic Partnerships Fathom Entertainment In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast , host Alex Stolz sits down with Shannah Miller, Vice President of Marketing, and Lynne Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategic Partnerships at Fathom Entertainment. Fathom has long been known as a leader in event cinema, bringing live performances, special screenings, and clas...
Mar 11, 2025•43 min
In this episode Alex Stolz sits down with Pierre-Alexandre (Alex) Labelle, co-founder of Under the Milky Way, the global digital distribution company helping studios, filmmakers and rights holders bring their films to VOD platforms worldwide. Alex shares his journey in the film industry, from the early days of digital distribution to working with major platforms like Apple, Google, and Amazon. He dives into the industry's evolving landscape, discussing the rise of SVOD, the ongoing relevance of ...
Feb 18, 2025•53 min
"We want to be a positive force in the ecosystem." Jen Davies In this episode, Alex Stolz speaks with Jen Davies and Graham Fulton, co-founders of Conic, the Glasgow-based film distribution company formed in 2022. They discuss the origins of Conic, their mission to support independent cinema, and the evolving landscape of film distribution. The conversation covers their values, team dynamics, acquisition processes, and the challenges of theatrical releases, all while emphasizing the importance o...
Feb 11, 2025•53 min
In this episode we welcome world leading film researcher Stephen Follows to the show for a deep dive into the data behind the horror genre. With insights fresh from Stephen’s new exhaustive exploration of the space, The Horror Movie Report 2.0, we explore the significant increase in horror film production and the numbers behind its profitability. In a conversation that covers the importance of theatrical releases for horror films (and why they are so important for cinemas!) and the demographics ...
Jan 30, 2025•52 min
"Data and AI can increase risk taking" Tobias Queisser In this episode we are joined by Tobias Queisser, co-founder and CEO of Cinelytic, the AI-powered platform designed to optimise decision-making across film production and distribution. As perhaps the most controversial - and misunderstood - topic in film and entertainment at this time, AI is often portrayed as a creative destructor but Tobias shares why he believes the technology will actually unlock greater risk taking in the filmmaking pro...
Jan 14, 2025•45 min
In this conversation, Leslie Vuchot, CEO and founder of the Festival Agency joins the show to discuss her journey in the film industry, the importance of film festivals, and the evolving landscape of film distribution. She shares insights on festival-driven success stories of independent films, the health of festivals, and the agency's new direction in building community around cinemas. Vuchot emphasizes the critical role festivals play in launching new talent and films, and her vision for enhan...
Dec 12, 2024•34 min
Jim Fredrick is a trailer editor, studio marketing executive and film professor - and author of the OPENING WEEKEND: AN INSIDER'S LOOK AT MARKETING HOLLYWOOD'S HITS AND FLOPS. In this conversation, we discuss Jim's career which began in editing trailers and spanned both the studio, independent and vendor sectors. We also hear about Jim's experience in helping launch some of the biggest and most loved films in recent history and hear memorable anecdotes about working with Rob Reiner at Castle Roc...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min
"The film value chain is very disconnected from today's online reality" Ben Johnson, Founder Gruvi In this episode we are joined by Ben Johson, Founder of the digital media agency, Gruvi. In a wide ranging conversation, Ben describes the lightbulb moment that led him to establish a film-specific model and why he believes the current value chain in the sector is out of sync with how audiences make decisions. We also talk about how and why cinemas have a distinct advantage in the film ecosystem (a...
Nov 14, 2024•55 min
"It's a changing landscape, but people still want to see movies." Thor Sigurjónsson, Scanbox In this episode we meet the leading - and legendary - Nordic distributor, Scanbox Entertainment with their top executives Merete Christensen (COO and Head of Theatrical) and CEO Thor Sigurjónsson. In the conversation we discuss how the Nordic markets are transforming through shifting audience behaviour and technology - and how Scanbox is adroitly adjusting to this landscape. Topics include changing acqui...
Oct 24, 2024•51 min
Luis Perez Endara is CEO of Gluon Media and Founder of Panoptico.tv, a new online community and recommendation engine for film and TV across Latin America. In this conversation, Luis explains how the current recommendation solutions, from algorithms to peer to peer services, are failing audiences. Drawing from his extensive experience in sales, marketing, distribution and curation, he reveals how Panoptico uses both 'top down' and 'bottom up' recommendation functionality to create a new type of ...
Oct 02, 2024•50 min
"The current distribution model is broken, and Blue Harbor is here to offer a different approach that benefits both filmmakers and audiences." Mike Messina, co-founder Blue Harbor Entertainment This episode is an insight into the obstacles and opportunities in the current releasing environment in a conversation with the founders of Blue Harbor Entertainment, the new service distribution company. Amanda Sherwin, Mike Messina and Seth Needle are industry veterans with decades of experience between...
Sep 05, 2024•50 min
"Optimising cinema businesses through better data strategies can transform the entire entertainment landscape." Marina Kosten Why the theatrical experience is so critical for the film and entertainment ecosystem and how it can be revitalised through a bold and innovative data-led strategy are some of the key topics explored here with the brilliant Marina Kosten. In the conversation Marina unpacks what first party data, how it can be harnessed and why it is so critical in today's entertainment ec...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Urszula Piasecka is CEO of leading Polish distributor Kino Świat, part of the Studio Canal group. In this conversation we tap into Urszula's nearly 20 years’ experience across film and media business, working in film production and distribution, to look ahead to how the role of the dsitributor can evolve. In addition, we gain insights on the centrality of the theatrical experience, how distributors and producers can work more closely, the current state of the Polish market as well as her thought...
Jul 16, 2024•48 min
David Larkin is Head of Business and Parnerships at Letterboxd, the global social network for grass-roots film discussion and discovery. In this episode we go 'under the hood' of the only film-centric social platform, to understand more about how it has successfully built a loyal community of 14mm+ film fans across the world. This includes how Letterboxd supports targeted film campaigns, understanding different industry-use cases on the site and insight into Letterboxd's big decision about inclu...
Jun 27, 2024•48 min
Serge Zabbal is Busines Director at Empire Entertainment, the 105 year old film production and distribution operation based out of Dubai. Focusing on the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), Serge oversees all of Empire's English language and Arabic releases across the different markets. This includes the output of Sony Pictures Entertainment, as the studio's official partner for the region. Having had diverse experiences across a multitude of industries for more than 15 years in the Midd...
May 09, 2024•52 min
In this special episode of the Market and Distirbution Pdcast, we tap into our Reimagine the Ecosystem series, the series of discussions with leaders on the future of the industry. In this particular session, we addressed the fast evolving field of distribution itself, with Avril Speaks (Distribution Advocates) and Angel Studios' Brandon Purdie. With the distribution landscape having changed so much in recent years, how are studios, creators and labels approaching the market differently? What ki...
May 09, 2024•48 min
In tis episode we explore alternative ways of distirbution with Benny Haesebrouck who is Head of Distirbution at MOOOV, the Belgian non-profit founded more than ten years ago. MOOOV's goal is to show a diverse world both on the big screen and beyond the cinema walls. Their mission to connect people through stories leads them to search all over the world for films and directors that combine artistic quality with relevant content - and bring them to Belgian audiences. In a wide ranging conversatio...
Apr 04, 2024•48 min
What have Taylor Swift, BTS, the National Theatre and Peppa Pig all have in common? One thing, at least, is that they have all been brought to the big screen by the leading event cinema company, Trafalgar Releasing. In this episode we speak with Trafalgar's SVP Programming and Content Acquisitions, Kymberli Frueh to discuss all aspects of the event cinema business - from how content is sourced to what makes a great cinema experience and the future of the theatrical business. From devleoping one ...
Mar 14, 2024•31 min
Mathieu Robinet is an award-winning film producer and distributor from France. In 2020 he created TANDEM, a film distribution company devoted to up-and-coming filmmakers and innovative marketing strategies. He was involved in the financing and theatrical distribution of over 100 films, working with directors such as Wim Wenders, Ruben Ostlund, Kirill Serebrennikov and Park Chan Wook. In this episode we explore Mathieu's remarkable jounrey of setting up TANDEM during the pandemic, his commitment ...
Feb 22, 2024•49 min
With over 1.9 billion users globally, TikTok is the entertainment juggernaut that is impossible to ignore. And in 2023, its users in the UK spent more time on average on the platform than any other video platform - including Netflix. But how can film marketing professionals effecfively leverage TikTok to engage audiences in our releases? Nikolaj Mathies stands out as one of the few marketing professionals who have worked with a diverse array of film distributors across Europe and America to prom...
Feb 15, 2024•54 min
"As a distributor, I've learned that you have to be agile and ready to embrace change" Elba McAllister CEO and Co-Founder Cineplex Elba McAllister is the Co-founder of Cineplex, the Colombia-based Independent film distributor and other countries in Latin America since 1993. In this episode, Eliba discussed her distirbution jouney, the changing face of Colombian distirbution, international sales and how she found herself exec producing content for major streaming platforms. In her 30 years of the...
Feb 01, 2024•45 min
In 2023, outside of the phenomenon of 'Barbenheimer', one film and release stands out as truly remarkable: SOUND OF FREEDOM. The hard hitting thriller, starring Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino, currrently stands at a colossal box office of $184m in the US and Canada and over $220m globallly. In this episode, we meet one of the key architects of this success, Angel Studios' EVP Global Theatrical Distribution, Brandon Purdie. In this conversation, Brandon sheds light on Angel Studios' unique model f...
Dec 21, 2023•55 min
In an increasingly competitive and congested distribution marketplace, better and more informed decision making upstream is increasingly essential. However, formulaic and algorithmically influenced content continues to enter the system, often leaving audiences cold. Is there a better way? How can we support intuitive creativity with robust data analytics, audience insights and distribution intelligence? What are the tools, resources and information that can underpin more effective commissioning ...
Dec 07, 2023•57 min
Enrique Costa is CEO of the Spanish production and distribution company Elastica Films, which he co founded In 2021 together with María Zamora. In a little over 2 years the company has built a reputation for dynamic markeing and savvy acquisitons, releasing the last 2 Palm D’or Winners “Triangle of Sadness” and “Anatomy of a Fall” as well as prestige titles such as “Drive my Car,” “The Worst Person in the World”, “Aftersun” and more. In this conversation, Enrique talks about the jounrey of estab...
Nov 30, 2023•52 min
Where do film festivals stand in a transformed and often fragmented film landscape? What is the underlying value that they can provide and how can we measure and capture that value? In a film ecosystem that often feels siloed, how can festivals become more robust and connected to other parts of the value chain, particularly with distribution? Is there an argument for festivals to work across the year to deliver that value and are there innovative business models or funding venues that can help s...
Nov 14, 2023•59 min
