The Indie Film Landscape with Keri Putnam

Join Keri Putnam, Scott Macaulay on December 5th to discuss Putnam’s groundbreaking, extensive and critically important study of the audience and landscape for independent film. Co-Presented with Filmmaker Magazine

This year long study involved over 200 field interviews with experts throughout our field. Some of the key findings include:

36.7 million people watched independent films in the theaters or on small screens. The total audience calculation for independent film is as large as 76.3 million.

However it’s hard for audiences to find quality independent films due to fragmentation of the streaming market, lack of marketing budgets, algorithms and landing pages that prioritize mass-appeal content, and the dominant streamers and networks largely abandoning this work in the last several years.

In an era where digital platforms prioritize sensationalism over substance, the future of independent media hangs in the balance. While the mainstream market is saturated with fleeting trends and popular content, independent film—offering profound storytelling and diverse perspectives—is increasingly marginalized.

Putnam’s research aims to illuminate the current and potential audience for independent film in the US. By analyzing broad viewership trends and distribution options, they seek to inform policy making, inspire innovative distribution strategies, and attract investment to ensure the sector's sustainability. This report is a call to action to recognize and support the unique value of independent film for its artistic worth and its impact on society.

Putnam hopes this study will spark dialogue, guide new initiatives, and foster a more vibrant future for independent media. This webinar will be part of that dialogue. We hope to see you there.

Keri Putnam is a producer, board member, and strategic advisor to media companies

and nonprofit organizations. During her career as a senior executive at Sundance, HBO,

and Miramax, she supported, developed, and produced bold, original media from new

and established talent. In 2022, Putnam founded Putnam Pictures to produce film and television from creators with distinct and adventurous vision.

Putnam served as CEO of Sundance Institute from 2010-2021. She and her team

championed early work from scores of filmmakers who went onto successful careers in

film and television, including several Academy Award and Emmy winners. Sundance

Institute grew by 300% during her tenure, launched pioneering digital products,

innovative strategic partnerships, and international festivals and programs around the

world. The organization also significantly invested in diversity, equity, and inclusion as

leading advocates for historically underrepresented voices in media.

Prior to Sundance, Putnam served as President of Production at Miramax Films, a

division of the Walt Disney Company, where she oversaw a global team in

development, production, post-production, acquisitions, and production finance. During

her four-year tenure, Miramax films were recognized with 34 Academy Award

nominations and 7 wins.

Putnam began her career as an assistant in original programming at HBO and spent

fifteen years as an executive there, ending her tenure as Executive Vice President of

movies and limited series, where she supervised production of over 45 films and

miniseries that collectively received over 50 Emmy Awards and nominations, as well as

numerous Peabody Awards, Golden Globes, and other honors.

Putnam sits on the Board of Directors of AMC Entertainment. She is a Board member of

Doc Society and New_Public, and co-founded ReFrame, a nonprofit dedicated to a

more representative media. She was recently awarded the Walter Shorenstein Media

and Democracy Fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, where

she will research and write about the state of independent media in the US today. She

is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an A.D. White

Professor-at-Large at Cornell University, a mentor at USC’s Stark Producing Program,

and an advisory council member at Brooklyn College’s Feirstein School. She is a

founding member of the LA Women’s Political Caucus and member of the creative

council at EMILY’s List.

SCOTT MACAULAY is a film producer and co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Filmmaker Magazine. Recent producing credits with his New York-based production company, Forensic Films, include Kitty Green’s acclaimed drama, The Assistant; Green’s hybrid documentary, Casting JonBenet; Elisabeth Subrin’s dramatic feature, A Woman, A Part; and Candice Breitz’s Venice Biennale-premiering art installation, Love Story. Currently in post-production is Sean Dunn’s debut feature, The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford. Macaulay’s previous producing credits with Forensic co-founder and partner Robin O’Hara include Peter Sollett’s Raising Victor Vargas; Harmony Korine’s Gummo and julien donkey-boy; Alice Wu’s Saving Face; Tom Noonan’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning What Happened Was and his follow-up feature, The Wife; Jesse Peretz’s The Chateau; Bryan Barber’s Idlewild; John Leguizamo’s Undefeated; and James Ponsoldt’s Off the Black. Forensic has also been involved as a co-producer in many European productions, including Olivier Assayas’s Demonlover and Clean. In 1998, Macaulay and O’Hara were awarded an Independent Spirit Award for their work in independent film, and in 2018 Macaulay was awarded the Cinereach Producing Fellowship.

Jon Reiss is a filmmaker, author and media strategist who wrote the book Think Outside the Box Office. His company, 8 Above creates custom audience-building strategies, theatrical experiences and digital release campaigns for independent feature and documentary films. Reiss has consulted with hundreds of filmmakers and film organizations throughout the world including The Gotham, IDA, Screen Australia, Film Independent, Creative Scotland. Current clients include 1800 On Her Own, Sabbath Queen, Food & Country, The Ride Ahead and The Body Politic.
He has conducted workshops on six continents and helped create and run the IFP/Gotham Filmmaker Lab for ten years. In 2023 he created the 8 Above Distribution Lab to teach filmmakers how to distribute and market their films. He recently launched a Substack where he writes about distribution and marketing.
Jon got his start in filmmaking and distribution at the infamous San Francisco documentary collective Target Video. He not only shot seminal bands such as Black Flag, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, The Cramps but was one of the first – if not the first person to conceptualize and execute video tours throughout Europe, carting 500 lbs. of video deck and projector in a VW Bus across 15,000 miles.

Host or Publisher 8 Above