Miira Paasilinna (The Yellow Affair ) offers insider tips to young producers and directors. 

The Yellow Affair's CEO will take part in the upcoming Nordic Talents panel Hands-Off it’s My Film! Nordic Talents starts August 31st.

1- Know how to pitch your film
Have a clear genre and target audience. Get a professional short synopsis done (1 paragraph) and make sure the English is correct. Trailers are crucial; they should not be too long (max. 1,5 min) and please get someone who specialises in trailers to do it (the director is too close to the film). Know your numbers and share information on your budget; sales agents and distributors need to know this.

2- Do your homework 
Research which sales agent(s) could be the right fit for your film. Sales agents pick up projects and films at different stages. Do not wait until the premiere of your film to find a sales agent. Everyone knows everyone in the business, so shopping your film around is not a good idea. Have realistic expectations (MG’s are not given to 1st and 2nd time directors.)

3- Have your legal docs in order
While in pre-production, already have all your legal documents done professionally and keep them in order. A good tip is to do as many of the contracts in English as you can, so as to save on translation costs later (some distributors need the contracts translated or require a Letter of Opinion from a lawyer). Make sure your music rights are cleared for the film and the trailer - for perpetuity. If you need to close distribution deals before you have a sales agent, ask for legal advice and be careful about blocking potential bigger deals if you give a small territory away. 

4- Stills and marketing material is crucial
Reserve room in your budget for marketing materials. Everyone seems to know that good quality still photos are important, but even so - sales agents and distributors are constantly complaining about the quality and amount of stills they get to work with. You should have 100 good quality stills available (this is stated in many distribution contracts). Screen grabs are not good enough. Extra material is becoming more and more important, something that will motivate consumers to buy a film legally as they will be getting something extra. Have someone handle social media. Sales agents operate B2B and social media is B2C, so it’s something that the producer should take responsibility for. Distributors appreciate if there is a clear social media plan in place that they can tap into.

5- Hire a press agent/ publicist
Congratulations are in order if your film is selected to a major A-class festival. There will be a lot of films there and your film will get lost if you do not have a publicist or press agent. Please note that a sales agent and press agent are not the same thing, they work side by side and focus on different things. Check out which festivals a publicist usually covers; sometimes you might even need two publicists, one for the local press and one for international press (like in Cannes).

6- Finally - Let your baby go
Trust the sales agent and distributor to do their job. Do not contact the distributor on your own; this is your sales agent’s job. Start working on your next film and use any festival coverage as a pitching platform for your next project. 

Nordic Talents takes place between August 31-September 2 at Copenhagen’s National Film School of Denmark, co-organiser of the event with Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 

REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 24 - TO SIGN UP - CLICK HERE.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON NORDIC TALENTS - CLICK HERE.

For further information about The Yellow Affair - CLICK HERE.