For many filmmakers, the dream of a festival premiere where publicists handle the remainder of the workload is a light at the end of the tunnel that makes it easier to endure the grind of production. But like so many other aspects of the industry, old norms have been upended and the game has changed.
Three of the industry’s best publicists got brutally honest about that at the American Pavilion on May 12. At the “What No One Tells You: The Secrets of PR Pros” panel, presented by IndieWire, 42West executive vice president Sylvia Desrochers sat down with senior vice president Hilda Somarriba and Obscured Pictures president RJ Millard for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of publicity.
Over the course of 40 minutes, the trio delivered a candid assessment of the independent film ecosystem. They explained that most filmmakers underestimate the cost of publicity, misunderstand what PR can actually accomplish, and often fail to realize that finishing a movie is only the beginning of their work.
“You’re only getting started when you finish the film. There’s a long road ahead after that,” Somarriba said. “It can’t just be you hire a publicist and they’re going to make your film a box office success. There’s a lot of different little pieces that fall into that.”
In a world where upwards of 10,000 movies are made per year and less than 1,000 land distribution, filmmakers now have to play a larger role than ever in their marketing and PR strategy. And if you haven’t started thinking about it until you have a finished cut, you’re already behind.
The conversation reflected a broader shift happening across the film world. Publicists now have to function as strategists, festival advisors, marketers, audience builders, and expectation managers navigating an industry that has more parties than ever competing for shares of a shrinking pie. For emerging filmmakers, the panel’s message was blunt: great films alone are rarely enough anymore.
You can watch the complete conversation in the video above. And for more information on American Pavilion’s Cannes programming, check out the rest of our lineup here.
