Part One: Story Development
Part Two: Funding, Financing and Budgeting
Part Three: Shooting and Editing

Distribution is something that you should have been thinking about since pre-production; not only thinking about but including in your planning and budgeting. Every filmmaker should know from the beginning what is most important to them in regards to their product. Are you hoping to be the next Francois Truffaut who is mobbed at Sundance and Cannes by reporters and fans or are you more interested in selling your film? Both are admiral goals but their paths may vary.

Film Festivals

For many, the festival circuit is the first and maybe only step they will take. Research five to twenty festivals that your doc will have a good chance to compete or screen in. Find some safe ones and some ambitious ones. Does your home town sponsor a local festival where your doc will have local relevance? Be sure to send your work to one or more of the majors: Cannes, Sundance, The Academy Awards, etc. Why not? Aim high. During pre-production you took note of the festival's requirements so you have everything you need: release forms, production stills, multiple DVDs of your video, subtitles if necessary, entry fee, etc. Mail them in before deadline and prepare your acceptance speech for the big win.

The website Withoutabox seems to be the most comprehensive hub for festivals these days (withoutabox.com). In fact, many festivals insist you use this service. Set-up a profile and let it work for you. You can also search the web for festivals that are appropriate for your documentary. Most have a $30 - $50 entrance fee. With all the other supporting material (e.g. production stills, multiple DVD copies, shipping costs, etc.), a single entry could cost close to $100 so pick your festivals carefully. And you may want to budget airfare and accommodation to a festival or two in order to accept the statuette in person.

Film Markets

Film markets are the place to sell your documentary. Generally speaking, this is the route towards fortune as opposed to the dream of fame at a festival. Film markets are usually large, chaotic "swap meets" where distribution companies or sales agents meet face to face with filmmakers to make deals for television, theatrical or DVD sales. To add a layer of complication, many agents will represent specific foreign markets so you might be negotiating with one agent to have your documentary play in theaters in India and another company to air on Argentine TV.

Many markets are associated with big film festivals such as The European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival (EFM), TIFFCOM at the Tokyo International Film Festival and Cannes Film Market at the Festival de Cannes. Others are not attached to festivals such as the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California. Find out as much as you can about a distributor's desires and needs so that you are prepared to successfully sell your documentary.

Distributors

Finally, if schmoozing and negotiating at film markets is not for you, you can approach distributors directly. The internet is your friend here as there are all sorts of niche companies offering just about any kind of distribution deal you can think of. For example, if your documentary has educational relevance, there are a number of organizations that specialize in distributing to schools. Some of these distribution companies are very niche, so do your research and don't hesitate to contact them with questions (preferably in pre-production). Remember, they are making money from your hard work so they should be happy to answer your questions. Wikipedia.com and Filmforum.org are two websites that list film distributors around the world.

There are new websites popping up (and disappearing) everyday that "distribute" documentaries. Some will pay you and some won't. Some will attach an advertisement to your work and share the ad revenue with you. Even if you don't get paid, it might pay off in the end if someone from a production company sees your documentary, contacts you and wants you to shoot their next documentary.