My guest today is Samuel Calvin Morrison, an independent filmmaker based in Philly, talking about his distribution experiences with his first self-driven feature film, By Deception, and how that informed his later experiences. Sam takes us through the story of making and releasing the film, including some less-than-optimal experience with a -- dare I say it -- predatory distributor. But ultimately Sam was able to turn all that into a valuable learning experience, which he took into making his next projects after that. Sam talks with lots of honesty and transparency here, delivering a story that serves as both a cautionary tale and a demonstration of carrying difficult experiences forward with positivity and a spirit of learning, so important for independent filmmakers working toward the long term today. There’s a lot to glean here for filmmakers facing their own distribution decision, you’ll want to give this one a good, close listen.

Deck of Cards Media