Rebecca Davis reports for Variety at the recent Macao International Film Festival on the future of indies and theatrical distribution.

She says:

“New viewing habits brought on by the rise of streaming have hastened the demise of the mid-budget American indie, changed the very definition of arthouse cinema, and shaken the indie distribution business. But theatrical is still here to stay, attendees of the Macao International Film Festival’s closed-door industry panels concluded Saturday.”

Some takeaways:

• “Prestige” films by streamers are more about awards and PR than a threat to theatrical.
• Mid-budget indie films have all but disappeared and the theatrical box office is blockbuster movies on one hand and local fare on the other (in the massive India and China markets at least.)
• Audiences are more inclined to search out indie films at home on their streaming services than at the multiplex.

Panel moderator Andy Whittaker, founder of distributor Dogwoof, says:

“Arthouse used to mean a Korean film that was award-winning. Now, an arthouse film is not a comedy, not ‘Star Wars,’ and everything else. Even mid-budget, $10 million movies are all arthouse.”

Dori Begley, executive VP of Magnolia Pictures, concludes:

“Producers are happier and distributors are miserable. There’s more production work for hire and less of an opportunity to nurture talent as there once was.”

My take: as the decade closes, streaming has truly conquered both TV and theatrical to become the undisputed source for the majority of viewing. The technology has matured so that bandwidth and resolution are no longer issues. However, access and discoverability, as well as curation and choice are increasingly becoming problematic for indie filmmakers and their supporters.