We are in the first week of 2018 and as usual, it is time to take stock of the work done in 2017 distribution. This is the fourth consecutive year that I have published these reports; at this link you can see the 2016 report.
Conducting a review of the selection figures and the evolution throughout an entire year also serves to identify trends, what has worked, and what should be improved for the new year.
I have compiled all the data from the different distribution projects, including all films and selections both in competitive sections and out of competition.
In total we have already surpassed the threshold of 2,000 selections in a single year, reaching 2,106 in total. This is the best figure in these 14 years, with 2017 being the fourth year of continuous growth.
In total we have accumulated 18,050 selections since 2003, including the confirmations we already have for 2018.
Total selections since 2003
These figures have certain nuances; although we have grown in general terms, it has been primarily internal growth. At an international level we have remained steady, dropping slightly compared to 2017 with 10 fewer selections, making it the second-best figure since 2013 rather than the first, going from 993 selections in 2016 to 983 in 2017.
The best data is at the national level, with a growth of 124 selections, from 999 to 1,123, compared to 2016.
The growth rate has slowed down slightly compared to 2015 and 2016. In this graph you can see the annual evolution of total selections, as well as national and international ones:
As can be seen, there is a growth trend over four years in three different periods: from 2006 to 2009, from 2010 to 2013, and from 2014 to 2017.
Monthly evolution of festivals in 2017 distribution
In the evolution of monthly selections, we can also see some changes compared to 2016 and draw conclusions:
We see how the month of March is consolidated as the third most important month of the year, after October and November. With 220 selections and 189 in competition, it has surpassed the month of September, which has dropped slightly this year, going from 178 in 2016 to 125 in 2017.
The months of October and especially November continue to account for the highest number of festival participations, breaking a new record; we closed November with 339 selections, which represents an average of more than 11 selections per day, 294 of which were in competitive sections.
International selections
As I mentioned before, we have reached 983 international selections in 64 different countries, this number of countries being lower than last year, which had 72 countries.
The United States continues to lead the list, with France in second place this time, and Italy moving to third place tied with the United Kingdom, where we have increased the number of selections in competition.
Here is the complete graph of selections by country:
Conclusions
In addition to the figures, this year we have managed to be in top-tier festivals, some of which are qualifiers for the Oscars and Goya Awards, and many of the most prestigious on the circuit. We have participated in festivals such as Toronto, New York, Locarno, Foley, Austin, Heartland, Encounters, Aesthetica, Miami, Full Frame, Big Sky, Brest, Sitges, Alcine, Málaga, Medina, and many more.
We are very happy with the result; we have once again exceeded the selections while maintaining an international presence and without losing continuous contact with all our directors. We have improved our festival tracking platform, which currently features more than 15 different variables that allow for monitoring the distribution strategy, as well as expenses derived from entry fees individually for each project.
Based on our statistics, we expect a readjustment for 2018, as we have not yet had five years of continuous growth. In any case, we already have more than 80 confirmed selections for 2018, including festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand and Rotterdam, among others.
We enter 2018 with a great desire to continue helping our directors and producers travel the world.
Let’s go!