|
|
|
Danielle Raaphorst Has Built Incredible Film
On The Family Genre & Its Ongoing Success
Is Underscored With A Commitment To Detail
And Client Service As It Celebrates Its 10th
Anniversary Selling Dutch Films Globally
|
Danielle Raaphorst
Based in the Netherlands, Incredible Film was founded ten years ago by Danielle Raaphorst who is also an independent producer. Raaphorst saw the opportunity for a local boutique Sales Agency driven by films produced in The Netherlands to promote Dutch Directors and Producers. Her commitment to dealing personally with her worldwide buyers has secured Incredible Film a loyal worldwide client base. In an exclusive One-On-One Interview with The Business Of Film Danielle Raaphorst outlines the growth, challenges and success of her European production and sales agency.
THE BUSINESS OF FILM: You have grown your company into a leading and successful exporter of films made in The Netherlands to the international marketplace. Is there a key ingredient to the growth since you founded the sales company ten years ago?
DANIELLE RAAPHORST: I believe that the key to the growth is the quality niche we choose to operate from. The foundation of our business was mainly family entertainment, and we have grown the catalogue, which consists of productions made in The Netherlands, of a variety of film genres, documentaries & TV series.
Christanne de Bruijn stars as Antonia Barco - in The Conductor directed by Maria Peters
TBOF: Family fare sells well, but at what point did you expand the genre for your buyers, and why?
DR: We work very closely with our buyers, and the marketplace is almost constantly shifting from territory to territory. We found thrillers were in demand, so very recently we started to work with Belgium producers and added several Belgian productions to our catalogue, because in The Netherlands the producers’ focus is not geared to thrillers.
TBOF: The global distribution landscape has changed tremendously with the impact of Netflix and Amazon Prime. How has this impacted how you conduct business on an international scale?
DR: The impact of Netflix is exciting and it brings a certain stability and revenue flexibility when I am able to do a global deal as I did with Tuscan Wedding and Loving Ibiza. However it also has an impact with regards to territory rights for my company. The reason being, as part of the Dutch film financing, the Benelux rights for the films I represent are not included in my contracts. These rights, including SVOD rights, are a part of the Dutch film financing equation and the local distributors have their own contacts within the local offices of Netflix and Amazon.
TBOF: The Dutch market is still relatively small in terms of box office; what does a box office hit mean when selling internationally?
DR: Producers in The Netherlands are waiting more and more to see how their film performs on the Dutch market. With a box office hit they hope that the Dutch distributor is able to interest the bigger platforms (Netflix and Amazon) into buying their film globally, as it happened with The Resistance Banker. In a way of course, it’s understandable. The overall impact for our company is more on the acquisition side, not really on the selling side. Selling territory by territory to my buyers worldwide I am very proud of the success of selling films like Prey, The Conductor and Redbad The Legend. There is a twofold effect for the producers: on the one hand very often Incredible Film can maximize the return on a territory by territory basis through my relationship with all the individual buyers. Producers are concentrating on producing, and are not always aware of the new buyers in the territories as the marketplace within those territories grows. As a sales agent we always have an ear on the ground; this is an important aspect as quality content is always in demand and the lifespan of a film is timeless 
Chinese campaign for Prey
.TBOF: In the ever-changing global marketplace local audience appetite for an independent film often is down to the relationship between a sales agent and their established relationship with a buyer. You recently had a huge hit with Prey in China.
DR: Yes, Prey just got released theatrically in China with more than 4,000 prints and it opened within the Top 10, together with Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Captain Marvel. It’s a good example of working closely with our individual buyers. I expected a TV and VOD, but Star Alliance revealed it was planning a limited 400-screen theatrical release for the film. The aim of Star Alliance was to market Prey as Violent Fierce Lion, a ‘Jaws-like’ horror movie. Just before the release date, the company increased the number to 4,000. I thought it was a zero too much! Star Alliance confirmed that it really was 4,000 because there was a huge amount of interest based on the high concept campaign they had run. The horror aspect in combination with some humour works very well for the Chinese market. There is a lack of these kinds of films coming out of their own territory, as they don’t create these kind of films in China. No other Dutch movie has been released on that scale and garnered such results, $5million box office within a week. I will be promoting Prey at Cannes, and with its success in China I believe more of my buyers will be able see the potential in their own markets.
TBOF: The spectacular success of Prey broke the Chinese Box Office in the horror genre. As with many independents, the versatility of your buyers are across the board. Redbad The Legend was a huge success last year. What combination of factors attributed to that success?
DR: Yes, we are very proud of the good success we had last year with the feature Redbad The Legend, a historical action movie in the line of ‘Vikings meets Game of Thrones meets Braveheart.’ Several factors helped. It was a high quality production with one of the biggest production costs of a film from The Netherlands. The feature was made 50% in the English language, with a good cast peppered with international actors, and I believe the timing was right; it was available when audiences worldwide were excited by period drama action films. 
Redbad
TBOF: Your catalogue includes The Conductor, a film that also lends itself to timing on a societal level internationally.
DR: For 2019 we have The Conductor. I am very excited that I got the chance to represent The Conductor, which is based on the true story of the Dutch-born Antonia Brico, the first woman in the world who successfully conducted a large symphony orchestra. In the Far East I have sold the film to China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, for a theatrical release. The feature is produced in The Netherlands, but in the English language. It has the production values of a Hollywood drama and again I believe the timing is right in the marketplace for this film. The remarkable life of Antonia Brico is a source of inspiration. It is an extraordinary achievement that she managed to achieve her goal in those days, even though she had to plead to get concert dates. Today, that area of the arts has not yet moved into the 21st century. The Conductor and Antonia Brico’s message is female artists must not be content to be in the margin where they have always been in this and many fields. As female artists, together we must do something about it ourselves, or it will continue to be that way.
TBOF: With this changed environment and the hunger and competition for product, what is the greatest obstacle as an independent selling films into the worldwide marketplace?
DR: Speaking for my company, the obstacle is the competition with the bigger sales companies from abroad who are actively acquiring films from The Netherlands. As a sales agent, you are as good as your content; the challenge is to convince our local producers to choose Incredible Film as a local sales agent instead of an American or European sales agent. I believe the high level of service of my company and the direct communication between myself and the producers makes a huge difference. Whilst we have a number of films in the catalogue, our commitment is to getting our local Directors’ and Producers’ work known in the worldwide marketplace.
TBOF: How does Incredible Film tackle the issues of a constantly changing, evolving and shifting marketplace in terms of placing your catalogue of films?
DR: The clients I serve worldwide are varied: Direct to TV, all rights distributors, platforms, etc. I tackle this by having a catalogue with all kinds of genres, and by populating the catalogue with homegrown quality content I have something for everyone. With the lack of thrillers from producers in The Netherlands, I have acquired thriller titles from neighbouring Belgium, titles like Control, Bastard, and Don’t Shoot, the latest box office success by Stijn Coninx, known for the Oscar® nominated Foreign Film Daens.
TBOF: Some argue that the independents now have a limited lifespan with the introduction and the ease of digital communication and the disruption to the global ‘marketplace’ in conducting business. Is it only a case of constantly adapting to the environment? Could the Festivals and Markets do more? Will the need for the middleman disappear?
DR: In a changing market, many different opportunities occur. I am in constant ongoing contact with our buyers. At the Festival and Markets I spend a lot of time with my buyers. It’s a chance to meet in person and strengthen our relationships and discuss face to face the changes that have occurred in their territory, analyse the new films we can work on together and how we can maximise the results from both our viewpoints, given the changes that have occurred over, say, a six month period in their territory. I strongly believe the personal touch is still very important to continue to build and keep the relationship with your buyer. Of course you are as good as your films are, but you can make a difference in the way you do business.
From the beginning with my company I decided that as an independent I would handle all the work myself, from selling to delivery to maintaining and adhering to a standard I set. That I would represent films I believe in, based on my relationship with my buyers, and this level of service from my company has brought our success and is highly valued by both the producers, buyers, and distributors.
The Festival and Market organisers can help Incredible Film and the companies in the sales and distribution community that make up THEIR world of business, by making it easy for us to work, to be conversant with the shifting economics, and be aware of the shifting GNP in the various territories. The organisers of the markets need to consider a higher level of service from their aspect of providing the marketplace where the industry gathers. Service from them is important – to us – the sellers too.
|
|
|
