FT 087: Making Money with Theatrical Self-Distribution with Steven Lewis Simpson

Rise of the Filmtrepreneur: The Entrepreneurial Filmmaking Podcast with Alex Ferrari

I'm very excited to bring this episode to the IFH Tribe. Today on the show we have filmmaker, Filmtrepreneur, and self-distribution expert Steven Lewis Simpson. Steven has been able to generate hundreds of thousands in revenue for his film Neither Wolf Nor Dog without ever releasing it online. He made all his money self-distributing theatrically. Not only in the US but worldwide.
In conversation, we discuss how we, as filmmakers, can create our own creative reality, even in an industry as inaccessible as the film business. No one has ever attempted the pan-European distribution he doing or released the way I have in the US. That amazes me as it seems so obvious. The key thing is that people don't want to try what has never been done.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog is one of the most culturally important American films in years and stars a 95-year-old Lakota elder who takes the audience into a contemporary landscape and reveals the echoes of the massive American Genocide that they still feel today. Not exactly a blockbuster-style film.
At eighteen, Steven Lewis Simpson was Britain’s youngest stockbroker and trader. Four years later he moved to Hollywood to work at legendary Hollywood producer, Roger Corman’s studio. At twenty-three, he directed his award-winning first feature film, Ties.
He recently theatrically self-distributed his sixth feature film, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, as he saw the few independent films that actually found distributors in the US were being poorly released. As a result of his re-imagining the theatrical distribution model, his film became the most successful self-distributed film in some time.
The film achieved the longest theatrical run of any 2017 release in the USA – a wider release than the last two Palme d'Or winners and often out-grossing blockbusters when heading to head, even though he had no distribution experience. He even has a new masterclass that can help you on your path.
This episode might just change the way you look at making money with your film. Steven is a true Filmtrepreneur. Please enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Steven Lewis Simpson.