Theorising the Cultural Impacts of Film Distribution in the Cinema and Beyond
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Theorising the Cultural Impacts of Film Distribution in the Cinema and Beyond Lauren Carroll Harris A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of the Arts and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of New South Wales March 2017 1 2 3 Publications Parts of this thesis have appeared in various forms in different scholarly publications. Material from the case study in Chapter 3 appeared as “Window of Opportunity: The Future of Film Distribution in Australia,” Metro (2014) 182:98-103, while conceptual material was presented in Not at a Cinema Near You: Australia’s Film Distribution (2013) Vol. 37, Platform Papers, Strawberry Hills: Currency House. An early version of Chapter 4 was published in “Film Distribution as Policy: Current Standards and Alternatives,” International Journal of Cultural Policy (2016) 1-20, published online 13 March, <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2016.1156100>. And Chapter 5 includes material published as “Theorising Film Festivals as Distributors and the Post- festival Distribution of Australian Films,” Studies in Australasian Cinema (forthcoming) and presented at the Screen Studies Association of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand conference in November 2016. 4 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements A wide circle of people have supported this thesis with feedback and scholarly kindness. My supervisors have been unthinkably encouraging with their intelligence, time and energy: Greg Dolgopolov has spent many hours and cups of coffee talking through the conceptual material and providing support, while Jane Mills’ eagle-eyed and forensic editing has taught me much about academic modes of writing. George Kouvaros read a number of truly terrible drafts and helped develop the ideas and my sense of how to articulate them. Working with John Golder of Currency House at the beginning of this project taught me much about writing – his knowledge greatly improved the expression of ideas within this thesis. The film professionals who spoke with me were very generous in revealing expertise and information not available from anyone or anyplace else, and their input and perspectives have enriched this thesis very much. Emily Stewart, Felicity Clark and Tim Harris’ proofreading efforts helped hugely. I am very grateful to the editors, anonymous readers and conference attendees who provided their informed perspectives. The young researchers I have met at conferences have shown me that academia can be a supporting community of peers and I am very grateful for their encouragement and advice in how to go forward. And my friends and family have been eternally patient in their support and tolerance through four years of complaints ranging from monotone to hysterical. All of these people helped make this thesis and have made my post-graduate study a worthwhile and stimulating experience. 5 Table of contents Table of contents List of figures 7 List of abbreviations 8 Typology of distributive terms 9 Introduction 11 Part 1 1. Literature review 18 2. Methodology 37 Part 2. Formal distribution landscapes 3. Examining formal distribution landscapes 50 4. Film distribution as policy 36 5. The festival economy 117 Part 3. Informality, digitisation and film cultures 6. The distributive dimensions of film cultures 139 7. Digital distribution: Formalising peer-to-peer and 167 crowdfunding Conclusion 194 Bibliography 201 Filmography 223 Appendices 227 6 List of figures List of figures Figure 1: Monopolisation of the exhibition sector: 55 Number of screens and market share of exhibitors in Australia, 2004 and 2014 Figure 2: Monopolisation of the distribution sector, 58 market share, box office and number of films distributed Figure 3: Number of screens for top 10 Australian films 60 at the box office, 2015 Figure 4: Alternatively distributed films, Australia, 2013-2016 66-68 Figure 5: Australian feature films’ market share, 69 DVD and cinema, 2004 and 2014 Figure 6: Number of film festivals and independent cinemas, 120 2004, 2014 Figure 7: Ethnic grocery stores as distributors servicing 150 domestic film cultures – Randwick Oriental Supermarket Figure 8: Ethnic grocery stores as distributors servicing 157 domestic film cultures – Twins Video Shop Figure 9: HITS distribution page on the BitTorrent Now website 174 7 List of abbreviations List of abbreviations ACCC – Australian Competition Consumer Commission ACMI – Australian Centre for the Moving Image AFC – Australian Film Commission AFF – Adelaide Film Festival AGNSW – Art Gallery of NSW BFI – British Film Institute DCP – Digital Cinema Package DRM – Digital Rights Management FTA – Free Trade Agreement IMDB – Internet Movie Database MIFF – Melbourne International Film Festival MFC – Municipal Films Centre (Norway) NFB – National Film Board (Canada) P&A – Print and Advertising SFI – Swedish Film Institute SFF – Sydney Film Festival Q&A – question and answer VOD – video-on-demand 8 Typology of distributive terms Typology of distributive terms Part of this research project’s mandate is to contribute to the critical language for identifying and describing tendencies in distribution. The following typology lists concepts defined within the thesis that are intended to bridge some of the gap between practices in distribution and their representation in academic language by developing some common terms. Distributive logic – the values and underlying processes governing a distribution system or circuit’s operations. Distribution landscape – a map of a country or region’s major film distribution points, both formal and informal. This encompasses the major ways in which audiences view films, for instance, the various parts of the cinema market, DVD, TV, VOD, other digital portals, film clubs, non-theatrical venues, festivals and cinémathèques. Two-tier distribution market – the structural division of a formal theatrical distribution market into two levels in which the mass distribution of films of the globally dominant cinema (the first tier) is privileged, shutting down competition from smaller, regional arthouse chains and distributors (the second tier). Access gap – the result of a two-tier distribution market, in which non-multiplex and local films cannot be seen by audiences for a lack of ways to access them. Eventness – the contextual dimensions of a distribution circuit, for instance, a film festival, presenting a live film-cultural event. The eventness of a circuit comprises all of the small, extra-textual elements and social practices around the films. Cinema is the launchpad to these moments, which are as critical to the film-going experience as the individual films themselves. Festival-dominant release – festival films that are a hit inside the festival circuit but fail to garner subsequent wide distribution. This includes mini-festival releases, in which films launch at festivals and then immediately in a limited number of theatres for a set period of about two weeks. Festival-launchpad release – the successful use of the festival circuit as the basis for wider distribution in other platforms and territories. Reintermediation – a form of direct access to content through new digital circuits, elevating the filmmaker in the film value chain. 9 Typology of distributive terms Peer-to-peer distribution – describes the use of file-sharing protocols like torrenting intended for distribution purposes. It is distinct from peer-to-peer consumption, which takes place at the level of consumer intervention into the film value chain following retail distribution. Peer-to-peer distribution is not necessarily equivalent to piracy: while file-sharing is mainly thought of as a means of consumption – the activity of a renegade spectator – it can also function as a means of distribution and a new part of the film business, co-managed by audience members and those in the film industry. Continued intermediation – the continuation of the major commercial players, their economies of scale and exclusionary structures into the realm of digital distribution. Relates to the manifestation of central monopolies as gatekeepers in the digital space and the ways in which the digital platforms do not so much disrupt the distributive logic of the formal realm but continue traditional windowed logics. Partial disintermediation – a fractional manifestation of disintermediation. Exemplified by developments such as cinema-on-demand that restructure the value chain and minimise the role of intermediaries while still feeding into existing distribution circuits. 10 Introduction Introduction Film history has concentrated on the production of films (studios, financiers, film-makers) at the expense of exhibition and distribution. In recent years there has been a trend toward exhibition history. This work is vital because it begins to tell us who saw films and in what circumstances viewings took place. But distribution still has received little attention. It, too, I believe, can reveal a great deal: it bears on how film companies made their money and controlled their markets and can also suggest what types of film various parts of the world’s population could see (Thompson, 1985, x-xi). More than thirty years on, this statement remains true. A gap exists between practices of film distribution and their representation in scholarship. Kristin Thompson’s quote, above, points to the way in which cinema’s history encompasses unstudied processes of distribution as well as processes of production. This thesis is about the cultural- economic exchanges between distribution circuits