The Waiting Game

Parkway of Broken Dreams is, for all intents and purposes, ready for the world.* So why haven’t you (probably) seen it yet?

For independent films like ours, especially documentaries, there often is not a traditional theatrical release. Oftentimes, making the film festival circuit becomes the theatrical release for an indie, and aside from those festival screenings getting the movie in front of new consumer and industry eyeballs, some even provide Academy Award eligibility. If a filmmaker is lucky and the project is the right fit, those screenings get the attention of a sales agent or distributor who can then position the film for a limited (more likely) or wide (less likely) release and home media exhibition (streaming/Blu Ray/video on demand/etc.).

So far, we have submitted Parkway of Broken Dreams to more than 20 festivals. And, to be honest, we’ve been passed over by half a dozen so far. That’s not surprising, nor is it disappointing. Most films—especially those without a studio or big name involved—only get selected by a fraction of the festivals to which they submit. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of features and shorts all vying for very limited screening space (and the virtual nature of festivals this past year has not helped with that). We aimed for a mix of long-shot but high-profile festivals (Slamdance, Tribeca, etc.) and smaller but more targeted festivals (Silver State, DOC L.A., etc.) being held throughout 2021. And we’ve only heard back from less than a quarter of them, so there’s still a lot of waiting.

On top of all this, because of the restrictions on screenings and distribution placed by some festivals—including a film not being made available publicly online or not having screened within a certain geographic area prior to a certain date—we have to be very careful and strategic about where and how we screen the film prior to festival acceptance.

Even then, our plans for direct screenings and in-person events have been (of course) upended by the pandemic—including, specifically, the plan for a Las Vegas premiere. Although some COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, we know that even if we were able to do a limited capacity screening in the next few months, not everyone would be comfortable (this filmmaker included) with attending an in-person event, and we want to be able to make this as rich and accessible of an experience as our (very patient) fans deserve.

So What’s Next?

All that being said, while we’re still waiting on decisions from festivals and for pandemic conditions to abate, we’re not sitting on our hands!

Firstly, our Seed&Spark backers who supported this project in a tier that included a digital download of Parkway of Broken Dreams will receive private links in the next week or two that can be used for personal viewing of the current version of the film.

For everyone else, we are hoping to be able to schedule a summer premiere event—whether this will be virtual, in-person, or hybrid will depend on the public health situation, of course. Based on our projected festival calendar, the earliest we can exhibit the film in any market or make it available for public screening will be late June, without violating any submission guidelines.

Otherwise, we’re working on finalizing all the technical and legal requirements to publicly screen or distribute the film while we await festival decisions and responses. Stay tuned to wherever you’re reading this. We know a lot of people have been waiting a long time to see this movie, and we’re just as excited for everyone to finally be able to see it.

*Pending some legal clearances , technical hurdles, or changes requested by potential distributors.