026: Deep Dive with Sam Jockel: Why You Shouldn't Just Hand Your Film to a Distributor
In this episode, Kirsty Stark talks to Sam Jockel, Producer of Australian parenting documentary Seen, which has reached over 30,000 audience members and gone into profit within 4 months of release.Sam comes from outside the film industry, as a serial entrepreneur with expertise in community building across multiple businesses. Seen is her first feature film, and she used her business background to build a hybrid release model, working with distributor Bonsai Films.This is a must-listen episode for anyone interested in building audiences and community around a project. Sam openly shares her experience, including how difficult the process was, and whether it was worth it to challenge the norms of distribution.Listen to hear Sam discuss:Why someone needs to be working on audience building from the moment a film is conceivedHow much she raised at the film’s first fundraising event, and why it was so importantHer choice to build a distribution plan around community screenings, instead of targeting individual ticket salesHer initial reaction to the distribution models she was presented withThe difficulty of managing an impact campaign alone, and whether it was worth itHow Seen planned and managed their release, including the tools and platforms they used, how they ran events and the benefit of their websiteWhat she would pitch to the film industry as an outsider, to make it better for everyoneSam Jockel is an award-winning entrepreneur and content producer with over 15 years of experience, known for founding ParentTV, an innovative parenting platform, and building ALDI Mum and School Mum, online communities with over 650,000 members. Recognised by the World Summit Awards Globally winning the Learning and Education category for the Quality Education SDG, she has also taken on the role of producer tackling the tricky topic of parenting in modern times with the recently released documentary Seen.Follow Sam and her work:Seen’s official website: https://seenthefilm.comSeen Resources: https://seentheresources.comSeen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seendocumentarySam Jockel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samjockelParentTV: https://parenttv.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ParentTVOfficial Trailer:This Deep Dive interview is hosted by Kirsty Stark, and proudly brought to you by CrewHQ & Expanding Media.If you’re enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and we’d love you to forward this episode to a friend!Follow us on: Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn
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