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@8.above

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Empowering Artist Voices
Founded by @jonreiss: Filmmaker // Author // Strategist
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Cindee Founder/CEO @seanpdrummond talks with @jonreiss about how Cindee is offering independent filmmakers new ways to reach audiences and monetize their work.

Watch 8 Above’s full conversation with Ash Cook (Video Store•Age), Mike Clarke (FilmTrade), and Sean Drummond (Cindee) for the New Platforms, New Possibilities webinar - now on Substack.

👀Link In Bio.

#indiefilms #webinar #independentfilmmaker #cindee by @8.above

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a day ago

Join us on October 22 at 1 PM ET for a conversation with Ghost in the Machine Director Valerie Veatch and Producer Nora Poggi about why they broke from traditional distribution windows, the strategy behind the film’s release, and how filmmakers can use distribution to reach audiences and create real-world impact.
🔗 Register at the link in bio! by @8.above

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2 days ago

Tomorrow (9/24)! Join us for a live conversation about the future of independent film distribution.

Jon Reiss sits down with Ash Cook (Video Store•Age), Mike Clarke (FilmTrade), and Sean Drummond (Cindee) to explore how emerging platforms are creating new possibilities for filmmakers across physical media, VOD, and direct-to-audience distribution.

If you’re an independent filmmaker looking for new ways to reach audiences and distribute your work, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

Thursday, September 24 at 12 PM ET / 9 AM PT

Register now at the link in bio. by @8.above

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10 days ago

19 festivals. 16 awards. More than 2,000 people saw the film. But when the festival run was over, there was almost no way to reach that audience again.

This week on Tales from the Lab, Sean Drummond (@seanpdrummond) shares how self-distributing No Right Way exposed a gap in the independent film ecosystem and how that experience ultimately led him to build Cindee (@cindee.io), a new platform designed to bring discovery, ticketing, streaming, and direct audience relationships together in one place.

Read the full article on the 8 Above Substack. Link in bio. 🎬 by @8.above

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11 days ago

This week on the 8 Above Substack, Jon takes readers inside Monday evening’s special NYC screening of Who Moves America at the IFC Center, where filmmakers, workers, labor organizers, and elected officials came together around the issues at the heart of the film.

The screening featured an introduction from NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, followed by a post-screening conversation exploring labor organizing, the Delivery Protection Act, and the issues facing working people today.

Read the full recap and Jon’s reflections on the power of theatrical distribution to bring communities together at the link in bio. 📢💛 by @8.above

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16 days ago

The 8 Above Distribution Lab is back! Welcome, Cohort 5! 🎬

This year, we’re welcoming 22 projects from filmmakers around the world for our largest and most global cohort yet.

Meet the filmmakers and projects of Cohort 5 in this week’s Substack article!
📲 Link in bio. by @8.above

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23 days ago

Now Playing at IFC Center in NYC + Q&As throughout the week!

🎤 Wed Sep 9, 6:30pm Q&A moderated by award-winning labor journalist Alex Press
🎤 Sat Sep 12, 6:55pm Q&A moderated by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (CITIZENFOUR)
🎤 Sun Sep 13, 4:35pm Q&A moderated by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Stephen Maing (CRIME + PUNISHMENT, UNION)
🎤 (SOLD OUT) Mon Sep 14, 6:40pm Q&A moderated by legendary independent journalist Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!)

We’re also opening this Fri Sep 11 in Omaha, Corvallis, Springfield, and West Newton, and many more cities in the weeks ahead.

The fight for dignity at work is happening all around us. Join the conversation. by @8.above

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24 days ago

Congratulations to @TheLibrarianFilm for their Emmy® win for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking! 📚💙

Proud to have played a part in this film’s journey!✨
Thank you to the filmmaking team, fierce librarians and inspiring patriots fighting for our Freedom to Read throughout the nation! Director/Producer @KASnyderFilms Emmy®-winning documentary is coming to digital October 6th and you can pre-order it NOW on Apple TV or see the film in theaters for Banned Books Week 2026. VIVA THE LIBRARIANS! by @8.above

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24 days ago

If you’re a reader of the 8 Above Substack or have participated in one of Jon Reiss’s Distribution Labs, you already know how important setting a single, clear goal is to his approach to distribution.

In this week’s Distribution 101, Jon introduces Goal Adjustments: secondary priorities that don’t change your ultimate goal but can shape your strategy and the methods you use to get there.

What priorities shape the way you approach your film’s release?

📲 Read the full article, **Distribution 101: Goal Adjustments**, on Substack. Link in bio. by @8.above

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a month ago

What are some of the biggest misconceptions filmmakers have about distributing their films? 🎥 🤔

We’re kicking off our Distribution 101 series with Jon Reiss sharing one he encounters often, and what filmmakers should understand about the reality of getting their work out into the world.

Watch the first installment, and let us know what distribution questions you’d like Jon to tackle next. 🎬

#FilmDistribution #IndependentFilm #IndieFilm #Filmmaking #Distribution101 by @8.above

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a month ago

What’s on the horizon for independent film distribution?

New platforms are emerging with creative approaches to physical media, VOD, merchandise, and direct-to-audience distribution, offering independent filmmakers new ways to reach audiences and monetize their work.

On September 24, join 8 Above’s Jon Reiss in conversation with Ash Cook (Video Store•Age), Mike Clarke (FilmTrade), and Sean Drummond (Cindee) for our New Platforms, New Possibilities webinar.

We’ll dive into what they’re building, how their models work, and what these emerging models could mean for filmmakers, distributors, and marketers navigating an evolving independent film landscape.

📅 Wednesday, September 24
⏰ Noon ET / 9 AM PT
🎟️ FREE registration on the 8Above Substack. 📲 by @8.above

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a month ago

Who says there isn’t an audience for political films in the United States?

As our founder, Jon Reiss points out in his conversation with The Librarians director Kim A. Snyder (@kasnyderfilms) and producer Janique L. Robillard (@janiquette) the idea that audiences don’t want political films has been reinforced by an industry increasingly hesitant to support them.

But @thelibrariansfilm tells a different story. Its theatrical run brought audiences together across the country, turning screenings into sold-out civic events and proving that the appetite for urgent, politically engaged filmmaking is very much alive.

For more webinars and case studies like this one, subscribe to the 8 Above Substack — link in bio. 📲 by @8.above

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