By - Amit kumaR Agarwal
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- Have you ever wondered why 90% filmmakers fail?
- Why, of all filmmakers in the world, only 1% get a chance to make their second feature-film.
The answer lies in the fact that most of the first-time filmmakers spend all the money in making the film. They don't have money, even to, enter their films at film-festivals; forget doing even one film-festival in the Top-10 film-festival circuit.
My logic has always been 'numbers'; because a good film or a bad film - is perspective. My favorite films post-2000 are - Avatar in Hollywood, Barfi, Bahubali The Beginning, Befikre from the Indian film-industry.
For many Inception is a great film, a cult film - I find it boring; the most over-rated film ever!
Numbers though, are definitive; they define the pay in the film-industry. Give a Rs.100-crore film, as a director you will sign your next film for a fee of anywhere between a crore or two. As an actress, you can easily demand Rs.50 lacs to a crore!
No one can argue the fact that the latest Bollywood blockbuster, Saiyaara did 300+ crores (still running) in the Indian market. But they can surely argue whether it was a good film or a bad film, without any end to it.
- The film you have made might be the greatest, but, do you have the money to show it to the world?
- If not, your 'great-piece-of-art' is just a 'boxed-film' - what is the point of making a 'great film' seen only by you or your friends?
Case-in-point, 'Anora', the film won at Cannes Film Festival 2024 and at the OSCARS at Academy Awards 2025. As per the reports, the producer and top-exec at Neon pictures said that the budget of the film was US$ 6 Million, but ONLY the OSCAR campaign was budgeted at US$ 18 Million, three times the cost-of-production!
So next time you make a film, take care to keep a marketing budget as well!
Why?
Every day I get 3 to 4 emails that in essence have the same message as the email below - I always tell such film-makers, if you have X budget for making the film keep 'X' budget to market the film as well. Here is the email:
Hello
I am Mohammad K... M... , a filmmaker from Iran. A country that is among the sanctioned countries and all financial and banking connections between Iran and other countries are cut off and the economic situation of the people is not good. I would very much like to participate in your festival, but I cannot pay the registration fee. I request you to exempt me from paying the registration fee and entrance fee to the festival and provide me with the registration fee exemption code so that I can send my film to your festival. Because attending your festival is very important for me and my group and I would like my film to attend your festival. Please allow us, Considering that the subject of my film is about women and women in Iranian society face many issues and problems, it is necessary that the films made in them be screened by festivals.
As a filmmaker, I have provided all the expenses of the film through the help of my friends and I owe many people. Filmmaking in Iran is very difficult due to the high costs of filmmaking, and there are independent filmmakers who cannot use government aid to make films with many difficulties. The value of Iran's currency is very low compared to other countries, and financial transactions between Iran and other countries are suspended due to international sanctions. We are struggling to meet the entry and registration fees, and according to the income we have, paying such sums is actually heavy for us. to provide do. Earning a dollar here means about ten hours of work and effort and stress, while not even half the costs.
I hope that your festival will allow me to show my film without paying the registration fee. Please look at the current conditions in Iran.
I wrote an email to him explaining the way film-industry works. I also told him to go easy, not to borrow from his friends simply to make a film, in the harsh Iranian economy. Shoot his next film, if he does, on a mobile phone and always have money to market the film.
Hope more film-makers get to the ground-reality, before making their ground-breaking, Avatar!