Joe Amodei on Getting Distributed: Who Can You Trust?

How do you know whether a distributor is one of the good guys?

Getting distributed means handing someone the rights to the film you spent years making, and many filmmakers are afraid to do it. A filmmaker recently told Christian Taylor there's a movement to self-distribute, partly because filmmakers don't trust distributors and find them hard to check out. Joe Amodei, whose company, Virgil Films, acquires and releases films, explains what a distributor actually buys. It's the rights to put a film on every digital platform, to sell it to TV channels, to release it on DVD and in theaters, to sell it to schools, cruise ships, airlines and other countries. You can sell those rights piece by piece to five or six companies, he says, or choose one distributor that does it all.

In Episode 216, the first of two parts recorded the same day, Christian hosts on her own while her co-host Jason Rugg has the day off. Joe is back from Los Angeles, where Apple, Hulu, Amazon and Netflix all told him the same thing: they couldn't really get into new films until after Sundance, which started the day they recorded. He tells how Virgil turned 20 that October, how Super Size Me put his small company on the map, and how it became, without planning to, "the documentary people." He remembers the call from Netflix asking for 100 movies to stream, and his answer: "Nobody's ever gonna watch a movie on a computer." Christian gives full disclosure: Joe distributes The Girl Who Wore Freedom and will distribute anything else she releases.

Then the questions every filmmaker asks. Can anyone pitch Virgil? Yes, Joe says, and Virgil is still mostly documentaries, though he's negotiating for a horror film. Are films at Sundance already sold? Many are, and Joe explains why festival audiences, who give standing ovations to films that then die at the box office, are no guide for buyers. What does it cost to screen at a film market? About $1,200 for two screenings, by his estimate. Should you self-distribute? You'll get a worse split, carry every delivery yourself and pay more: one filmmaker told him she was paying $2 a DVD, where Virgil pays 90 cents. "Filmmakers are great making film," Joe says. "They're not great at distributing their movies." Christian sums it up: if you self-distribute, "you're no longer a filmmaker, you have become a business person." The episode closes with Joe's DocuView Déjà Vu pick, George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey, and a surprise for Christian about Stevens's wartime footage.

Full disclosure: since 2022, Joe's company, Virgil Films, has distributed Christian's film The Girl Who Wore Freedom, and it now sponsors Documentary First. This 2024 episode has no sponsor read.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Which rights a film distributor acquires, from streaming to airlines
• How Super Size Me turned Virgil into "the documentary people"
• What Joe told Netflix when it first asked for movies to stream
• How to reach a distributor, and what Virgil is looking for
• Why buyers don't trust festival standing ovations
• What a film market screening costs, and what it got Joe
• What you take on when you self-distribute your film
• Why Joe calls George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey the best documentary he's seen about a filmmaker

CHAPTERS

0:00 What Does a Distributor Do?

6:10 The Netflix Phone Call

12:31 Pitching Virgil Directly

16:22 Already Sold at Sundance

19:36 Buying a Market Screening

22:25 Should You Self-Distribute?

27:56 Who Can You Trust?

31:03 George Stevens' War Footage

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What rights does a film distributor buy?

Joe Amodei of Virgil Films says a traditional distributor negotiates for the rights to put a film on digital platforms, sell it to TV channels, release it on DVD and in theaters, and sell it to the educational market, cruise ships, airlines and international buyers. A filmmaker who owns those rights can sell them separately to five or six companies, or choose one distributor that handles them all.

Should you self-distribute your documentary?

Joe Amodei says self-distribution is possible, but platforms like Amazon and iTunes will offer you a less favorable split than a distributor gets, and you'll be responsible for every delivery. Costs can run higher too: one filmmaker told him she paid $2 a DVD, where his company pays 90 cents. Christian Taylor adds that self-distributing changes your job: you're no longer a filmmaker, you're a business person.

Is it worth paying to screen your film at a film market?

At markets like Cannes and Berlin, Joe Amodei says, the market accepts films without judging them, and you choose how many screenings to buy. By his estimate in 2024, two screenings cost about $1,200 and one about $700. Your film then appears in the market's catalog and online listings, and buyers from around the world can attend. He has done it twice: one film found nothing, and the other landed a distributor in France.

Are the films at Sundance already sold?

Christian Taylor says it can seem that way, with films arriving with distribution already in place. Joe Amodei explains that Sundance is a public festival that sells tickets, so a buzzy film from a streamer helps fill seats, while buyers attend separate industry screenings. He says festival crowds are biased, often with the cast in the room, so a standing ovation there tells a buyer little about the box office.

DOCUVIEW DÉJÀ VU PICKS

Joe's pick: George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey, George Stevens Jr.'s documentary about his father, the director of Shane, who joined the service to film World War II. Christian held her own pick for another day.

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Joe Amodei

Founder of Virgil Films and Entertainment; director of Cold War in Philly

Joe Amodei has worked in film distribution for more than 40 years, starting in home video retail in Philadelphia. In 2000 he became president of USA Home Entertainment (Traffic, Being John Malkovich, Gosford Park), and he went on to create Virgil Films and Entertainment, whose releases include Super Size Me, Restrepo, Forks Over Knives and Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. He won a 2020 New York Emmy for The Real Bedford Falls: It's a Wonderful Life. In 2026 he released his first film as a director, Cold War in Philly: Flyers vs Russia 1976.

Virgil Films: https://virgilfilms.com

Cold War in Philly: https://coldwarinphilly.com

Virgil Films on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virgilfilms

Virgil Films on X: https://x.com/VirgilFilms

Virgil Films on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirgilFilms

ABOUT VIRGIL FILMS

Virgil Films and Entertainment is an independent distributor of documentaries and independent features. It releases only a few films a month so it can work each one with its filmmaker.

ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST

Documentary First is a weekly podcast about the people behind documentaries and how the work changed them. Host Christian Taylor, director of the award-winning The Girl Who Wore Freedom, talks with filmmakers from Ken Burns to first-time directors. Listen Notes ranks the show in the top 5% of all podcasts worldwide.

THE DISTRIBUTION SERIES

• Episode 128, Joe's first visit, from a video store to Super Size Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6zHmPe97nI
• Episode 194, five film business tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRVSc0YRizE
• Episode 198, Cannes part one, the film market: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mUqEAz87js
• Episode 199, Cannes part two, why documentaries are hard to sell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiJfjJIuMY0
• Episode 218, getting distributed part two, distribution expenses: