When Success Runs Into a New Challenge - May 18, 2023

Dear Backers,

How do you define the success of a film? So far, My Love Affair With Marriage has been accepted to over 80 film festivals around the world, received 21 awards, including a nomination by the European Film Academy for Best Animated Feature Film, Europe's version of the Oscars.

European Film Awards last December in Reykjavik. That's Sturgis in the white jacket flanked by Signe on one side and Barbie and Reg Foster (Associate Producer) on the other.

Signe has been traveling with the film relentlessly since February to promote it and connect with audiences. You can see the screening schedule HERE.

Signe with the audience in Brussels

The film has been released in Latvia, Spain, Italy, Central Europe and is about to be released theatrically in France. The prestigious Seattle International Film Festival is screening My Love Affair With Marriage this weekend, May 20th and 21st. Signe and Sturgis will be there. The success of the film with festivals and audiences has been both humbling and thrilling. And it is because of you and your support! Thank you!

We put the name of every person who supported "My Love Affair With Marriage" in the end-credits of the film. This is just one of 15 title cards listing the film's supporters.

But to secure a theatrical release in North America has been a challenge. Because of streamers, the pandemic, changing habits of audiences, and the closing of movie theaters, the art-film distribution structures in the U.S. are in the process of collapsing. The offers we received from wary US distributors were for online options only.

We do not want to immediately put the film online because films online are easily treated as a commodity, something consumed, and quickly forgotten. We created My Love Affair With Marriage for conversations and impact. The film is best viewed in a movie theater for the quality of image, sound and shared experience.

We need to come up with a different plan, one that addresses how to bring audiences back into movie theaters. Brian Newman, a respected expert on the independent film industry, wrote in his widely read blog that the answer to film distribution might be in "foundation or private-donor funded vehicles to support P&A (publicity & advertising) and impact campaigns for social issue/cause-related films". You can read Brian's article "Distribution Now - It's On You" HERE.

Another expert in the industry, Peter Broderick, shares his thoughts on the revolution of independent film distribution and lists eight golden opportunities in this time of upheaval. Read his "SPECIAL REPORT: Sundance 2023 and Beyond - Stark Realities Golden Opportunities" HERE.

We believe that for My Love Affair With Marriage, the answer is to make events out of screenings, reach out to local organizations interested in the topic of the film, invite them to co-sponsor a screening and ignite in-person conversations. We are working on the best ways to do this. Stay tuned!

THANK YOU for your love and support!

Love, Signe, Sturgis and the entire My Love Affair With Marriage Team