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For Immediate Release
“The Festival, The Distributor and The Filmmakers”
EUGENE, OR – The Eugene International Film Festival was chosen by Rivercoast Films Distribution to introduce their revolutionary distribution model that will benefit filmmakers and possibly lead to industry-wide changes. Rivercoast President Mike Katchman has announced that in the few weeks following the October 2007 festival, three films exhibited at the Eugene International Film Festival have been signed with his company.
Independent filmmakers rarely get to meet with distributors. The Eugene International Film Festival has established itself as a boutique film market, providing opportunities for filmmakers to succeed through value added networking. The festival has started receiving submissions for the 2008 season. For information visit: www.eugenefilmfest.org.
Justin Hunt, whose Val Kilmer narrated film “American Meth” was signed by Katchman, states that he had not seen any distributors at any of the other festivals he has attended. “So Eugene was the first and to this point, the only festival where the filmmakers were put in direct contact with distributors,” he states.
Meeting Mike Katchman put Hunt at ease. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, I didn’t know how things worked. I didn’t choose Mike because of the facets of his distribution company. I choose Mike because of his character. He’s hit the ground running. I love working with him. He’s got a good team of people.” Shortly after the festival Mr. Katchman found a nationwide demand for this topical documentary.
“American Meth” is a cross country journey that passes through the oil fields of Wyoming and New Mexico, to encounters with teens in Montana and ends in Portland, OR. In one community along the way, producer Justin Hunt made arrangements to live with a family ravaged by methamphetamine.
He documented their daily life and that of their young children. The hopes and dreams of the family are captured night and day as they struggled to survive. The children are seen fending for themselves, the parents quarrel and reconcile, and encounters with acquaintances are not always congenial. While “American Meth” is a blue-collar story of the damage caused by methamphetamine, it is above all a revealing saga of how methamphetamine is a scourge that lashes everyone in America. No segment of society is immune.
Justin Hunt, having been to other festivals promoting “American Meth,” his first film, was drawn to the Eugene International Film Festival in part because “It’s a beautiful part of the country, we enjoyed seeing that part of world,” he recently stated. “The festival was fantastic, it was hospitable and everyone was so available. There were quality movies there and more importantly there were quality people.”
Mike Katchman brings to Rivercoast Films Distribution and independent filmmakers a distinguished career with major studios where he was responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Rivercoast Films Distribution offers lucrative, long-term, distribution relationships based on fiscal transparency and strong personal relationships.
“The Eugene International Film Festival presented an opportunity for my company to roll out a new deal in film distribution. The festival played a preeminent roll in establishing Rivercoast,” he states. “We signed three films from the festival and they have proven to be very big deals for the company. We have established a new era in independent film distribution. This is a relationship driven business, for both supply and demand sides, that’s where our team excels.” The Rivercoast Films Distribution team consists of five veteran professionals with ongoing relationships with the biggest retailers in the nation.
Bobby Roth (“Independence Day,” Writer and Director) exhibited his film “Berkeley” at the festival. Katchman called Roth from the festival (Roth was playing golf on the Oregon coast at the time) and made arrangements to meet him in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Roth recently reflected on the festival in a conversation with festival Director Mike Dilley. “I’m thrilled with the results. I’m so happy I put my film in your festival. We’ve found that you end up making deals with people. No matter what you put in a contract, it’s based on good faith and at the moment we feel great about Mike (Katchman).”
“The business is changing so much. The only thing you have to hold onto are people. We like Mike and . . ., and the best thing is that both sides have been really cooperative with the other, and understanding.” On the festival having facilitated their meeting Roth concludes, “That’s a great calling card for a festival.”
“Berkeley” is a story of social activism coming of age in the 1960’s. Just as sex, drugs, rock & roll, hippies and Vietnam enters our consciousness, so it does for the film’s protagonist Ben Sweet. A conservative, well-brought-up 18-year-old middle class, shy, white boy who enters UC Berkeley in 1968 to study accounting and avoid the draft, Ben gets thrown smack in the middle of a home grown revolution, and a whole new world. Through his music and writing, a combination of Hendrix and Clapton, he is slapped with a politically based, knowledge driven and sexually laced awakening, ultimately finding himself.
Carl Thibault’s “The Garage” was shown at 79 festivals, winning 29 awards on its way to capturing Mike Katchman’s attention at the Eugene International Film Festival. Reflecting on the festival Thibault said “You never know which festival you’re going to meet somebody at. You just don’t. A perfect example is your festival. A new festival and I hooked up with the guy that’s doing me right. It’s a great success story for you guy’s, for Mike and for myself.” About Carl Thibault, “I’m a contractor, that’s what I do for a day job. Two of my favorite films…, “Animal House” and “Stand by Me.” Both of which were filmed in and around Eugene, OR, home of the Eugene International Film Festival.
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