In our latest Tales from the Lab, we have a guest writer, Kelsey Taylor, the director of To Kill a Wolf – in select theaters Aug 1 – and 8 Above Distribution Lab Cohort 3 alumni.
I’m so proud of the filmmakers who are part of the 8 Above Distribution Lab – so many of them are taking incredibly innovative and importantly very individual paths with their releases – (and humble brag – they do this in part through the training/mentoring and discussions with myself and their cohort of other filmmakers in the lab). Little by little I’ve done posts highlighting what they have accomplished – but today is the first guest post from one of the directors from our lab cohorts: Kelsey Taylor whose stunning film is part of the current Popcorn List and won a ten city theatrical release from Film Fest Knox. Here is her post:
On Choosing Hybrid Distribution
by Kelsey Taylor
When we set out to make TO KILL A WOLF, we were filled with the classic naiveté of first time filmmakers— the kind of naiveté you kind of need to have the audacity to make an independent film…
While both myself and my partner, Adam Lee (producer, cinematographer), had a great deal of experience working in below-the-line positions on set and had overseen a dozen features through production, we had never pulled back the curtain on what happens AFTER a film is made.
Our vague understanding of distribution was that it would inevitably happen once the film got into a festival and was discovered by a tasteful sales agent who would stand steadfastly behind the film and just, you know, do the distribution stuff, or whatever that entailed. That was our plan. That’s what we learned in film school. That’s how the film industry is supposed to work.
But that’s not what happened.
We didn’t premiere at Sundance, we didn’t have a sales agent, we didn’t have big name super stars. And most sales agents and distributors’ responses to our arthouse drama was that it wasn’t “genre enough”. Our film is a quiet, slow building, modern reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood told through the lens of sexual grooming.
And the film did attract some major wins on our festival circuit– an international premiere (Edinburgh Film Festival) helped with initial press and reviews, an incredible win at up and coming festival, Film Fest Knox, where we won an Oscar Qualifying theatrical release in Regal Cinemas, and placement on The Popcorn List (best undistributed films of 2025), means we can OFFICIALLY brag about not having distribution…
But the burden of not having traditional distribution weighed heavily on us, and as our festival circuit came to an end it seemed like our film might be destined to live on a hard drive forever as a very expensive paper weight.
And just as we were beginning to feel totally alone, helpless, and hopeless, we were fortuitously introduced to Jon’s Distribution Lab…
The lab began in January and wrapped up in June. And ironically, hybrid distribution, something we saw as a last resort, is the path we’ve now CHOSEN after realizing through the Lab that it would be irresponsible to abandon our baby film to a distributor who didn’t have the same passion and patience we’ve had over the last seven years making this film.
Our cohort has heard presentations from experts in: publicity, digital marketing (both large and small scale), airline sales, impact partnerships and a special presentation about advertising on Letterboxd. Other sessions were supervised by Jon– helping us identify our goals for the film and pinpointing our niche audiences, to executing upon said goals and connecting with those respective audiences.
Over the course of the Lab, each filmmaking team built out a presentation that consisted of all the pieces needed to execute their distribution plan. And we used this exact presentation to circle back on our financiers and raise additional funding. We have since assembled a lean, mean team through connections from the Lab to support our theatrical run.
Together Films, is coordinating our impact and marketing campaigns, partnering us with organizations that prevent sex abuse and support women and youth in need. We feel the film can be an important educational tool for those impacted by abuse and trauma and are using Eventive to host a free virtual event with our impact partners to show how the film can be used as a resource.
Our point of view is that word of mouth is the best advertising for a film like ours which is why our publicist, Lisa Trifone, is working hard to drum up reviews from both major and local sources.
We’ve found that the film, which was shot in Oregon, resonates with Pacific Northwest audiences and we are leaning heavily on our festival and local contacts in these communities to rally support for seeing the film in theaters.
After our theatrical run the film will be available to rent on standard platforms through Filmhub. We’re still holding out hopes for an SVOD deal, but have AVOD agreements in place after our TVOD window.
Late in the game, we did end up bringing on a sales agent, Ty Leisher, who is shopping our international rights— a bridge we did not quite feel comfortable crossing just yet. Ty has been a true partner, acting in the best interest of the film and his sales estimates were 100% realistic— not the smoke show other agents tried to sell us on.
In an ironic twist, Ty brought us a minimum guarantee that we ultimately walked away from. The path that we had previously defined as success, a money offer on the table from a traditional distributor, now seemed like a cop out, a betrayal to the film we had poured ourselves into. WE were the ones who had to see it through to the end.
And let me tell you, this is not the path we ever thought we would have CHOSEN to pursue. We’ve learned more than we ever cared to know about what distributing a film looks like and more than anything we want to move on to the next creative project. But we also know that we will be better filmmakers knowing what we know now…
“The cavalry are not coming.”
A beautiful quote from Mark Duplass’ 2015 SXSW conference speech, this is a phrase we’ve returned to often during the making of this film and it rings true more than ever ten years later… We are living in a time where indie filmmakers without big budgets, big name talent, big-time EPs are going to find themselves more and more embracing hybrid distribution because the cavalry are not coming… Not when you make your film, and not when you distribute it. My hope is that more filmmakers will educate themselves (ideally before they make the film), and CHOOSE this form of distribution rather than seeing it as a last resort.
Participating in the lab was exactly the empowering education we needed to make this hybrid release possible. We have a fantastic team working with us on the release and are incredibly lucky to have had so much support in this unexpected journey that continues to twist and turn…
You can find the trailer and screening cities / times for TO KILL A WOLF on our website. We’re an open book about this journey– feel free to reach out!
Festivals / Awards:
Edinburgh International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival (Mind The Gap Finalist), Austin Film Festival, Bend Film Festival (Best Director), Portland Film Festival (Best of Portland), Tallgrass Film Festival (Stubbornly Independent, Best Cinematography, Best Female-Directed), Film Fest Knox (Best Film), Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Gasparilla International Film Festival (Grand Jury Winner), Crossing the Screen – Eastbourne International Film Festival, Berkshires International Film Festival.https://jonreiss.substack.com/p/tales-from-the-lab-on-choosing-hybrid