professional opinions

Meet Isadora Johnson, film sales agent extraordinaire who lead the sales strategy behind films like MAD BILLS TO PAY and NO OTHER LAND. She shares the strategies learned, and experiences and connections she’s made that help her sell the most exciting films in this economy.

Mentioned in this episode are:  NO OTHER LAND, MAD BILLS TO PAY, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, Amanda Troiken, Sarah Choi, Joel Alfonso Vargas, Josh Peters, Julie Waters, Gabriel Mayers, and Marissa Frobes

In this episode she describes:

(02:37) what film sales agents really do,

(08:37) why their relationships matter,

(13:39) the documentary NO OTHER LAND's path from festivals to self distribution to the OSCARS

(19:59) the trends film buyers are looking at

(22:56) what streamers are looking for

(24:04) what audiences are looking for

(26:06) the power of mentorship

(28:56) how diversity affects film sales and acquisitions

(30:01) the people who look out for her

(33:49) how Mad Bills to Pay went from festivals to release without celebrity cast

(39:45) what’s most helpful for an agent to sell a filmmaker’s film

(42:50) how the money in film sales has changed

(46:47) how important casting and attachments are to the film sales process

(49:06) the other cool people selling films now

My name is Gabriel Mayers and I am a film producer.

Welcome to professional opinions! A film podcast where I interview friends about what makes independent movies happen from the friends who taught me.

Each episode interviews someone currently doing the work on the entire life cycle of a film. From production to the life cycle of getting it made and especially getting it seen (which unknowingly for some go hand in hand.)

This season includes interviews and case studies from Independent: Critics, Film Sales Agents, Production Management and Line Producers, Film Financiers, Film Acquisitions, and Film Marketing/ PR, and more.

professional opinions……. on Film Criticism with Brandon Lewis

Real film careers. Unscripted paths. Professional opinions.

Listen as renown film critic and film bird app warrior, Brandon Lewis, explains to me what film critics actually do.

He shares:

• What film criticism is
• How you get on the list of a fancy premiere
• How film critics actually get paid
• What makes a really good review
• Why Sebastian Stan is so good in A Different Man
• Why well meaning critics sometimes bad reviews. And how to become a film critic on your own!
  

Articles Mentioned: https://www.rogerebert.com/black-writers-week/film-criticisms-crisis-in-the-letterboxd-era

BIO

Brandon Lewis is a freelance film and television critic and pop culture writer, having contributed pieces to AwardsWatch, Geek Vibes Nation, FandomWire, and RogerEbert.com. He has covered the Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, Tribeca, and New York film festivals. He has also conducted interviews with several filmmakers and actors, including Spike Lee, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Sebastian Stan, Celine Song, Lee Byung-hun, and Na Hong-jin. Brandon currently resides in New York, NY.

Articles Mentioned: https://www.rogerebert.com/black-writers-week/film-criticisms-crisis-in-the-letterboxd-era