Now that the digital age has made making films within everyone's grasp, the next piece of the puzzle is DISTRIBUTION. Not a easy nut to crack granted, but it is beginning to show fissures thanks to folks like Sujewa Ekanayake, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley (see below), and Lance Weiler. We have written about these filmmakers and their projects a lot on this site and for a damn good reason: DIY Distribution is the future! Arin tells Indiewire:

"Most theaters would normally avoid a project like ours because we don't have a distributor who would be marketing the film and getting people to show up. But because the audience of our video podcast is so enthusiastic about the project and because we have numbers and emails and zip codes for all of these people, we've been able to instill enough confidence in theaters to get the film booked"

Lance gives some further advice for filmmakers opting for DIY Dist:

"Watch how others build an audience and don't lose that same empowerment that you felt when you picked up the camera and shot the film in the first place." Explaining that he identified his target audience for the film early on in the process, Weiler added, "As you write your script take some time to consider who your audience is, the more time you give to the promotion of your work the more likely it is that people will discover it." Finally, he added, "With advancements in technology and the ever-changing windows of release there is no one way to distribute your work."

Go here to read the excellent article from the always excellent Indiewire.