I dropped by Picturehouse‘s offices yesterday for a quick word with president Bob Berney, who was kind enough to supply some insights for a freelance piece I’ll be writing this spring. Near the end of our chat, however, I stole some totally unrelated thoughts from him about the demise of Wellspring’s theatrical unit and what it might mean for foreign film distribution in the States.
Berney invoked a cautious optimism for the most part, citing foreign-language standbys like Sony Classics as well as a few new media upstarts. “I think there will still be outlets, but every time somebody closes, it makes it harder,” Berney told me. “I think the ancillary stuff–the video side of foreign films–has been tough, but Netflix is kind of helping a bit. I could see Netflix taking up the slack on buying some films, like they’re doing with IFC now. There’ll be ways I think it will increase. I don’t know how many Wellspring was buying–at least four or five last year. It’s a factor. … It’s still tough when you think of a classic French art film–it’s still consdered an art film, and I think the mini-majors aren’t buying as many. But it doesn’t mean they won’t. I don’t think it’s dire.
“We are doing (Guillermo del Toro’s) Pan’s Labyrinth, and we’re doing bigger things we think will crossover,” Berney continued. “I’m probably going to make a deal for Lukas Moodysson’s new film, but it’s also hoping he’ll make a bigger film later that we can get. And I know there was (the Sundance sensation) 13 Tzameti. And I still think there’s value in the remake rights if people want to buy them. I think it’s been a tough market for a lot of films, but when you look at the overall kind of foreign-language market, the Asian films have done really well. They’re not even considered foreign films anymore. Look at Hero, and even right after Crouching Tiger–certainly before–they never worked. You couldn’t give those films away. They figured there was no audience. I think the same thing is going to be true for Spanish-language. It’s not quite there yet, but I think in L.A. and Chicago and New York, we’re almost there where something could break out and people will say it doesn’t matter. I’m hoping that’s what happens on Pan’s Labyrinth: We can open big, and because Guillermo’s known, people will accept it.”

I also asked Berney about the marketing challenges distributors face with foreign films. Naturally, Toro’s name recognition from English-language genre pictures like Hellboy and Mimic can boost Labyrinth, but Berney admitted non-genre picture remain a challenge. “I think 13 Tzameti can be marketed as an intense experience. I think you just have to push the film and a director as something that’s completely different. If it’s the same old movie–the same kind of French love story–you know, it’s hard. But if it’s some striking new director, you’ve got a shot. I mean, 13 Tzameti is not only in French, but also black-and-white. A real challenge. But it’s also a great, adrenaline-surprise movie. You have to take each one one-at-a-time and try to go beyond just putting it at Lincoln Plaza if you can. You’re going to do so much business there, but it’s everywhere else where you want to find an angle.
“We did all right with Ushpizin, which was an Israeli film, by just going to the Jewish community and saying, ‘This is a movie you’ll relate to.’ We even got some of the (religious leaders) to talk about it, and people came to see who maybe otherwise wouldn’t have [Ed: The film also made headlines during its theatrical release when supporters hosted unauthorized public screenings with Israeli and pirated DVDs.] It didn’t matter that it was subtitled, because of the subject. A lot of us are trying to find films that you can find a constituency for whether its subtitled or not.”
Berney noted the potential for day-and-date releases (via distributors such as Magnolia Pictures/2929 Entertainment and IFC First Take) to acquire new visibility for foreign pictures. “It’s true that if there isn’t a theater or community that has a consistent reputation (for exhibiting foreign films), that there may be a lot of markets where you can’t see them at all,” he said. “But with technology for downloading and Netflix, you can get this stuff all the time. The awareness of these directors and filmmakers is such that when they have a new film, the next one could be theatrical. I think the audiences are broadening. Younger audiences are more apt to see a foreign language film now than 10 years ago, just because of the Internet and the awareness of different directors on the Internet. … I think for a while I was nervous that it was just going to die, you know? The ones that came here seemed to be the very stereotypical, blue-hair art film, and nothing for a younger audience.”

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