Ep. 283 I 7 Filmmaking Tips From the Distributor Who Directed "Cold War in Philly"

What does it really take to make a documentary that finds an audience and earns its money back?

“You have to have the passion for the story and the passion to do the work, because it will not be easy.”

— Joe Amodei

If you want to make a documentary, the hardest questions are not the ones about cameras. They are about access, money, and whether anyone will ever watch it. In Documentary First Episode 283, a distributor who has spent more than forty-five years releasing films, and has now directed his first one, gives 7 filmmaking tips that cut straight to those questions, from getting access to a famous subject to setting a budget that can actually earn its money back.

In Episode 283, Christian Taylor sits down with Joe Amodei, the founder of Virgil Films and a film distributor of more than forty-five years, who has released hundreds of documentaries including Super Size Me, the Oscar-nominated Restrepo, and Forks Over Knives. After decades of releasing other people's films and learning from the mistakes he watched filmmakers make, Joe finally made his own: Cold War in Philly, the story of the night in 1976 when the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Soviet Red Army. He came to find out whether his own advice would hold up.

The throughline is simple and a little daring: a career distributor became a first-time director, determined not to repeat the mistakes he had watched other filmmakers make. Along the way he explains how he got access to a legendary NHL team through its alumni association, why he kept the budget under $250,000, why a built-in audience mattered so much, and a first documentary that sold out theaters across Philadelphia. Running underneath it is the Cold War itself: the KGB minders, the players who hated the government but not each other, and the heroes Joe got on camera before they were gone.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:

• How to get access to famous people and organizations, through the alumni association
• What Joe did once he was in the room: prove yourself, be yourself, and be honest
• The deals he had to clear before filming, the team, the owner, and the league, and that they took nearly a year
• Why a built-in audience is what decides whether an indie film succeeds
• What to budget for a documentary, and why Joe will not spend more than $250,000 on an indie doc
• How Joe made sure to get the players on camera, including two who passed away after their interviews
• Why his first film took two and a half years, and what he would do differently next time
• The qualities that make a film distributor worth trusting: answering calls, paying on time, being honest
• The two things Joe says it takes to finish a film
• Why Joe believes the work is worth it, from the players' gratitude to a film that outlives everyone

CHAPTERS

0:00 Becoming a First-Time Director

2:42 How Do You Get Access?

9:33 Capturing Heroes in Time

13:04 Structuring the Documentary

21:20 The Grind of Production

28:11 Selling Out Theaters

38:32 What Makes a Film Succeed?

41:37 What Should a Doc Budget Be?

44:48 How Do You Keep Going?

47:38 Is Filmmaking Worth It?

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do you get access to famous people or organizations for a documentary?

Go through the alumni association. Joe Amodei got the Philadelphia Flyers by working with the team's alumni group, which controls appearances for former players. Nearly every major sports team and league has one, usually run by one or two people. Find that person, earn their trust, and they can open the door to the whole roster. Then be ready to handle the separate contracts with the team, the owner, and the league.

How much does it cost to make a documentary?

For an independent documentary, Joe Amodei's rule is not to spend more than $250,000. The reasoning is about return: know what the film can realistically earn back before you set the documentary budget, and understand the market you are spending against. A built-in audience and disciplined spending give a documentary a real chance to make its money back.

What makes an independent film succeed in today's market?

A built-in audience. Joe Amodei says a film does best when people already care about the subject before it exists. Cold War in Philly had Flyers fans waiting for it, and the sold-out theatrical run followed. If you cannot name the audience for your idea, Joe's view is you might not want to make it. When you can, the film has a base to launch from and can cross over to viewers beyond the core, people who told Joe they were not even hockey fans.

What does it take to succeed as a documentary filmmaker?

Two things, according to Joe Amodei: passion and willpower. Passion for the story carries you through a process that will not be easy, and willpower keeps you going when the edit stalls and the work is not moving as fast as you wanted. You owe it to your investors, your subjects, and the people who gave up their time to sit for you. His advice is simple: you cannot give up.

What should you look for in a film distributor?

Christian describes what makes Joe a distributor worth trusting: he answers calls and emails, pays on time, sends the reports that are due, and is honest. She notes that this basic reliability is rarer than it should be in the business, and it is exactly what separates a distributor you can trust from one you cannot.

DOCUVIEW DÉJÀ VU PICKS

In the DocuView Déjà Vu segment, Joe Amodei highlighted two documentaries from the Virgil Films slate: She Was Here, about the young actress from Poltergeist, and Broken Brothers, directed by Jeff Levine, a future Documentary First guest. Both are available on Amazon and Apple TV.

SPONSORED BY

Virgil Films Entertainment. With more than twenty-five years of distribution experience, Virgil releases documentaries and indie features and works directly with every major platform. Learn more at https://virgilfilms.com.

ABOUT JOE AMODEI

Joe Amodei is the founder of Virgil Films and a film distributor with more than forty-five years in the industry. He started in retail, worked in live entertainment for Ted Turner and Barry Diller, and went on to release hundreds of documentaries, including Super Size Me, the Oscar-nominated Restrepo, and Forks Over Knives. Cold War in Philly is his directorial debut, the story of the 1976 game in which the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Soviet Red Army. Learn more at https://coldwarinphilly.com.

ABOUT VIRGIL FILMS

Virgil Films and Entertainment is an independent distributor known for documentaries and indie features, with a catalog that includes Super Size Me, Restrepo, Forks Over Knives, To Die For, Seven Yards, and Speed is Expensive. The company works directly with every major transactional platform and offers filmmakers a range of deals, from standard distribution to service arrangements. Recent and upcoming releases include She Was Here and Broken Brothers. Learn more at https://virgilfilms.com.

ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST

Documentary First is the show where we dig into the craft of filmmaking, the business, and the truth of it. Host Christian Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, actor, and voice actor, and the director of The Girl Who Wore Freedom and Heroes of Carentan. Each week she sits down with the people who make documentaries and pulls out what actually works.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Cold War in Philly (film site): https://coldwarinphilly.com/
• Cold War in Philly is available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu, and YouTube
• The Girl Who Wore Freedom (Christian Taylor, distributed by Virgil Films)
• Films referenced: Super Size Me, Restrepo, Forks Over Knives

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