The distribution & broadcasting questionnaire
As a broadcaster or distributor, you want the stories you bring to the screen to reach the widest audience. You choose content that can entertain, fascinate, or challenge viewers, and you have the power to include new references that are more in line with the concerns of today.
This guide provides questioning themes based on the cornerstones of the stories you bring to the screen (the characters’ profiles and mission as well as the societal model that serves as a backdrop for the film) and the sustainability of your distribution and communication methods.
The full guide includes approximately twenty questions and is available for download. Its quick and easy-to-use format allows you to better understand the impact of the content you broadcast and to initiate conversations with the production and communications teams. You will find a summary of the guide on this page. This questionnaire is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to make it your own and use it to guide you in your goals and needs.
How do you include the issues in your fictions?
This first chapter aims to identify if and how environmental and social issues are addressed in the script, treatment, or bible you receive, or in the brief you write.
This quick analysis will allow you to direct production teams toward possible changes to the story line and verify that you want to support the same issues. It also provides an opportunity to initiate conversations about sustainable film production and communications so the approach will be supported by all trades involved.
A few key figures
38.9%
of lead actors in theatrical and streaming Hollywood films produced in 2021 are people of color.
UCLA, 2022
3
films nominated for the 2024 Oscars are set in a society where climate change is present.
Climate Reality Check, 2024
28.5%
of films released in 2022 met the challenge set by GLAAD of reaching 20% LGBTQ inclusion, down from 20.8% the previous year.
GLAAD, 2023
2.8%
of the characters in prime-time TV series in the US in 2021 have a disability, whereas disabled people represent 26% of the American population.
GLAAD, 2022
How to implement a sustainable communication strategy?
Sustainability efforts implemented by the production team (which can be spearheaded and supported by you) during the filmmaking process should extend to the communications campaign and tools used to enhance the film’s distribution. By paying special attention to these elements prior to broadcasting/distribution, you contribute to the establishment of a collaborative and coherent approach to sustainability.
This chapter allows you to ensure that your campaign’s communications elements (displays, events, digital elements, etc.) have been designed with sustainability in mind in order to limit their carbon footprint.
A few key figures
24%
is the percentage contribution of air travel to the overall carbon footprint of big-budget films, across all productions studied between 2016 and 2019.
Sustainable Production Alliance, 2021
77
metric tons is the average carbon footprint of the production of one series episode, equivalent to a 506,712 km flight.
Sustainable Production Alliance, 2021
How to settle an impact campaign?
An impact campaign is a set of actions carried out in connection to a film with the goal of creating bridges between the topics seen on the screen and real life. It aims to challenge the viewer, lead them to take action, and provoke debate. It can also contribute to the work’s visibility. It is created in collaboration with relevant civil society stakeholders and decision-makers and extends the film experience by giving viewers tools to take action. It is complementary to a traditional marketing campaign that accompanies the film’s release in theatres or on TV.
This section aims to help you identify, understand, and optimise your impact strategy by accentuating the issues addressed in your film and their communication, while identifying the networks and partners to include.
A few key figures
44%
is the increase in the number of Americans who said they are aware of the existence of forever chemicals after the film Dark Waters and its impact campaign (from 18% before the film to 26%).
National Water Quality Survey, 2020
$400 k
is the amount raised in the United States as a result of Marvel Studios’ 2018 “Black Panther Challenge” impact campaign, which gave thousands of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to see the film for free.
CBR.com, 2018
