Stand Out Indie Film ‘Ink’ Still Seeking A Distributor
Jamin Winans’ (11:59) new Indie film Ink has every element that a typical commercial film distributor looks for. And yet as it stands, Ink has yet to find a distributor.
The story of Ink is one of good versus evil, of love and loss and ultimately heroic redemption. It is a visually stunning, thoughtful fantasy adventure that receives excellent reviews from viewers and critical acclaim from critics. There is no doubt amongst the minds of many that Ink is destined to be a cult classic and that it is one of the best indie flicks to have been produced in recent years.
Described as “A Wonderful Life Meets Sin City” Ink is an epic that follows an 8 year old girl named Emma (Quinn Hunchar) as she is dragged through a mysterious dream-world by a mercenary named Ink who intends to use the girl as a means to elevate his standing on the darkside. In the real world Emma is in a coma, and across both worlds a variety of characters step up to fight for her life, including her father (Chris Kelly) who must, at the same time, battle his own inner demons.
Watch the first trailer now:
Ink has everything going for it, except for that which it needs most – a distributor.
There is no question that when a would-be distributor evaluates the potential of a film that it comes down to risk vs reward. Distributors need to assess how much money can be made from an acquisition versus the investment and weigh that up against the likely risk that accompanies that investment. Yet, when it comes to films, risk versus reward can be very subjective – even great films sometimes fail to be big earners. Film distribution is a bit like gambling and so the key to green-lighting a film for distribution is to make the most educated gamble you can. Ultimately the ‘educated gamble’ relies heavily upon on how early audiences react to the film and, of course, the critical response.
If audience reaction and critical response are poor, the risk is elevated. If these reactions are positive, the risk is reduced – and if they are absolutely and unequivocably glowing, then the risk is as low as it can be.
Along these lines, the risk with Ink is as low as it can be.
So why hasn’t a distributor taken the gamble and decided to invest in the obvious potential of Ink?
The first answer that came my way was ‘harsh economic times’ which, whilst a fair reason in the cases of some films, surely doesn’t apply to Ink. When film distribution is your core business, you either go completely out of business or you continue to distribute films. To continue the distribution of films means that, when times are tough, you simply have to make better decisions about which films to invest in and which ones to avoid. The object is profit, and profit comes from the intelligent distribution of films known to be audience favorites. With rave reviews, how can Ink not be one of the few indie films sitting neatly at the top of the consideration pile?
The second answer is obscurity – it seems whilst many people know of Ink, many others don’t. Yes, the trailer has been viewed roughly 100,000 times on YouTube alone, but some distributors don’t see those as terribly high numbers – but of course those numbers need to be weighed up against the limited funding the indie filmmakers have to promote the film. Additionally, these numbers are spread between two different trailers and both have received a perfect 5/5 star YouTube rating. That’s a lot of views in consideration of the perfect rating.
Watch the second trailer now:
Further, with limited advertising Double Edge Films had no problem filling seats for their June 10 Ink premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood where 500+ people turned up for a screening. The overwhelming response was that the film blew everyone away.
The third, and perhaps the most pertinent issue of all, is that the film is very unique. Typically films that stretch the imagination evoke fears from distributors that because the audience may struggle to understand the film, word of mouth will be poor . Clearly word of mouth isn’t an issue with Ink, so how the uniqueness of the film should damage its potential is beyond me. Still, distributors have been burned in the past and so no doubt the sheer creativity behind Ink will have many potential investors wary. You only need to look at The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus to see this issue in full flight where, despite a film boasting Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Lily Cole and Christopher Plummer, the film’s fantastical element has resulted in it struggling to obtain a US distributor.
Of course, Ink is no Dr. Parnassus - there is no polarity in perceptions of Ink and there is absolutely nothing disjointed about the film to concern a distributor.
Obviously there is a lot more to the ins and outs of film distribution than what I can cover here, but the essence of the issue when it comes to Ink is that it is a fantastic, popular and potentially cult film that offers more to potential investors than many other high profile commercial productions. In the eyes of many it warrants a full theatrical run and it is difficult to see how with such widely popular opinion the film could do poorly.
There is no question in mine and many others minds that Ink will end up being the next Donnie Darko when it hits DVD. I’m truly surprised that a distributor hasn’t snapped the film up yet to capitalize on it before it hits DVD. Let’s hope the head of a cashed up film distributor, somewhere, wakes up and takes the plunge to invest in what is easily one of the best indie films of 2009.
Visit the Official Ink Website
Follow Double Edge Films on twitter
Visit Double Edge Films blog
Visit Ink Fansite (Repercussions Magazine)
Read a shining review by Aint it Cool News
Read a shining review by Film School Rejects
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June 15th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
If I saw these trailers on TV I’d go to the cinema for sure. The film looks great, how can this not end up in the cinema? Madness.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I LOVED this movie, a goodfriend saw it in Santa Barbara and rallied alot of support for the LA screening. I brought a friend who turned to me 20mins in and said “I love it already”. She said it best, all we can do is tell more and more people about the movie, and get people to see these limited screenings.
If you live on the East Coast go to NYC to see it next month!
June 21st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Ink is one of the best films I have seen in years. I saw it 4 times in Denver and if someone picked it up, I would probably see it another 4 times! I’m stunned and disappointed that this film hasn’t taken off. It deserves a larger audience!
There is something wrong with these guys if they don’t pick it up!