Documentary filmmakers considering a theatrical release now have a new resource to add to the list of marketing and distribution gurus. Jeff Lipsky (co-founder, October Films) recently announced that he's getting back into the distribution business.

Theatrical business is flourishing – it wasn’t just Tim Burton’s film that broke global records this past weekend, the IFC Center in New York City also made history, and that’s generally the way things have been going for well over a year. Yet with more and more new distribution platforms on the rise revenues for independent producers and filmmakers continue to diminish. (Of course, that merely an educated guess since there is absolutely no transparency about such numbers whereas box office grosses are as readily available as the weather report.)  These and other vexing realities have inspired me to return to my roots. I’m once again hanging out my shingle as an independent distributor for hire, making myself available to filmmakers and producers seeking to engage the services of an ever-passionate and experienced executive who still believes (perhaps now more than ever) in the potential and the immediacy (think revenues) of a theatrical release. In 2007, on a “service deal” basis, I released the record-breaking Sweet Land, the award-winning documentaries The Bridge and The War Tapes, and my own film Flannel Pajamas. I can be contacted at jeff.lipsky2010@gmail.com.For those who may not know my history feel free reach out to me so I can relate further details about the other 225 or so films I’ve marketed and distributed, from films by Cassavetes to Jarmusch, from Lasse Hallstrom to Mike Leigh.  And so we can discuss how to exploit your film with the same verve, acuity, and exuberance, greasing the wheels for its ancillary future, a future that will remain 100% yours.** 

Given Lipsky's history with documentaries, I asked him about what his previous experiences have taught him, why he's currently optimistic about the theatrical distribution landscape, and what kind of films he'd ideally like to work with in this new venture. He sent me the following candid response via email. 

 "A little over eight years ago I pleaded to a room full of documentarians not to fixate on 9/11, to no avail.  Sure enough, one year later film festivals were flooded with cinematic 9/11 docs, some good, some bad, few successful. The most successful World Trade Center doc to date?  Man on Wire, with nary a mention of 9/11, merely an original, soaring, entertaining film. At the end of that doc the World Trade Center still stood proudly, just around the river from the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of eternal resilience.

     "That's what will work, that's what the theatrical public has an insatiable desire for, even from documentaries. That's why theatrical business is booming. One thing I don't hope to see in the near future are docs about Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Or Haiti.  (You really want to compete against Spike Lee or Jonathan Demme?)  Want to win prizes?  Make sure your doc has Holocaust content or inflection. Want to make money?  Have your subject be a Jew (perfect example: The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg). And remember, the most resonant theatrical films are escapes. The financial mess we're trying to survive is generally not a good topic. No one wants to spend $10.00 to wallow in a reflection of their own misery. Alex Gibney's Enron doc, which is more a riveting detective story than a wringing of hands, woe-is-me experience, has already been made. Let's move on. Save the planet docs? Not so much, even if they do describe a different kind of Holocaust (so they win prizes, too). 

     "In short, I'll be on the prowl for docs featuring subjects that you can't see for free on ESPN (unless it is as good as Dan Klores' brilliant new Reggie Miller film) or that are defining hallmarks for HBO (unless it is produced by Tom Hanks). And movies about movies, docs about movies, are seldom anything more than navel-gazing vanity pieces. Avoid them like the plague.

     "But in the end, docs, like everything other art form, are scrutinized subjectively. I thought one of the best, most entertaining, most compelling, and most moving docs of the past ten years was Michael Moore's Sicko, though by comparison to his other films, it was a bomb. What do I know?  All I know is that I love great movies and, when hired to market and distribute one, I never let go."

**I first read this statement on Anne Thompson's blog. It is reprinted here with Jeff Lipsky's permission.