Interviews

"(...) Filmmaker Leszek Drozd runs Story Tellers Productions and he has created films
exlusively for nontheatrical release to health professionals . His titles include Overview
of Speech and Language Pathology and Hypnosis: The Power of Your Mind . If you never
heard of Drozd`s films, that`s okay - the people who need to know about them are more
than aware of his output .
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" Independent Film Distribution : How to Make a Successful
End Run Around The Big Guys " by Phil Hall . / 2006 /

Book is available in local bookstore or Amazon .
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" The History of Independent Cinema " by Phil Hall . / 2009 /
- everything you never knew about indie films .
to read more at The Hollywood Reporter magazine link here

Book is available online at BearManor Media .
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INTERVIEWS WITH FILMMAKER AND MUSIC COMPOSER LESZEK DROZD
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" There are no special groups of interest behind financing, except my good will and not really
impressive bank account ", says Leszek Drozd, a Chicago-based educational film producer and
director who runs Story Tellers Productions . " And i am very proud of that . There are no politi-
cal ads, no self-glorification in my films - just my sincere will to show to audiences the best
quality academic information available today . "
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" Nontheatrical filmmaking is a fantastic alternative to theatrical filmmaking ," says Drozd .
" It is hard to ignore the market for special-needs educational videos when 55 million people
suffer from disabilities in the U.S. alone ! Strangely enough , every filmmaker I know ignores
nontheatrical filmmaking - Hollywood is still a magic word . I truly believe nontheatrical film-
making is a very rewarding career possibility . Nontheatrical filmmaking gives you satisfaction ,
experience , a great resume , your own network of contacts , and possibly money . And the
biggest plus is that you can do your nontheatrical filmmaking everywhere- no trip to Hollywood
is needed ! "
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" There are many reasons why self-distribution is the best solution , " continues Drozd .
" First of all , most nontheatrical distributors actually are catalogue companies , with no solid
network of distribution . Usually , especially in educational videos , such distributors are inde -
pendent filmmakers /producers who are interested in expanding their offer to small audiences
by adding outside work into their list of videos for sale . Simply and straightforwardly : You as
a filmmaker can do the same , so why share profits on the scale of 80% to 20% with the distri-
butor- you get 20% - while losing all rights regarding your project for a minimum of three years
with late royalties , if any royalties ? " (...)
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Did you catch that phrase " possibly money " in Drozd`s quote ? One way a nontheatrical film-
maker can harvest profits is through the same means that many commercial filmmakers have
employed : self-distribution .
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" In general , you need to prioritize : What are you doing that can be considered as wasting
time versus what are you doing that can be considered as productive time ? In other words ,
make a correct assessment of your priorities .
That applies not only to the distribution aspect of the business , but also everything regarding
the movie business . Some filmmakers need five to 10 years to understand what can be and
should be done in six months .

You can ask if I am one of them , and my answer is : "Probably , yes , I am ! " (...)

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Drozd self-distributes his educational DVDs via the Internet, with titles ranging from speech and
language pathology to career planning . ( Disclosure: the author of this book has appeared in
one of Drozd`s films. )

The Net enables the filmmaker to allow potential customers to watch the films online in order
to judge their value for DVD exhibition in classrooms. " Anyone who is interested may watch
my videos for free, with no logging in or financial commitment required," he says.
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Drozd points out that declining educational standards offer a challenge for today`s educational
filmmakers. " The very brutal truth is that there is not enough good quality education around
the world that is accessible to the public," he says. "I have audiences between single mothers
as far afield as Texas and Poland thanking me because they found on my website videos to
show to their growing children, simply because they experience difficulties to afford quality
education for teens. This is the biggest excitement I have ever received."
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He adds that educational films may be enjoying a new renaissance in the very near future.
" There are many high-end produced films with great educational value that are now on the
market," he says. " Thanks to well-intentioned qualified producers and filmmakers as well as
high quality affordable technology I see a golden age on the horizon. In a 21st- centaury
economy, post-secondary education represents one of the fastest growing fields in the public
sector. To me as a producer of educational films, it is no ordinary opportunity".
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