Vancouver: Tim Bishop, the Toronto-based director of operations at Everest Releasing, knows the value of a great story and engaging characters – not much.

Although the film was among the elite invited to Sundance (and made a u.s. sale, to the Sundance Channel), Everest is the only distribution company in Canada to take on a Canadian-made art film called The Suburbanators, after several distributors took a pass. Bishop knows he’s facing a stiff challenge.

‘It has no mass appeal,’ he says of the micro-budget feature from Calgary’s Gary Burns that is set to open on one screen in August. ‘It’s going to be tough to sell. It’s filmed in 16mm. It’s about three unknown guys living in small-town Canada. It’s no Independence Day.

‘We’ll have to sell it as an art film,’ he adds.

Produced through government largesse and the use of equipment from a film co-operative, Suburbanators is long on story and character, says Bishop, but doesn’t generate an iota of star wattage or high-powered, ID4-esque pyrotechnics. That will make the task of attracting the target audience of 18- to 34-year-old males a steeper climb. As a movie-going group, he notes, the male Gen-X demographic is not generally motivated to drop $8 at the art-house box office.

The distributor remains undaunted. Bishop says Suburbanators has a friend in Everest president Paul Gardner, who liked the film enough to commit to release it theatrically, though without any advance to Burns or coproducer John Hazlett.

The key to the marketing strategy, says Bishop, will be to generate as much buzz as possible for a $50,000 promotions price tag, which is $25,000 more than Suburbanators’ initial budget. The film ended up costing $65,000.

The shoestring promotions budget will pay for ads, publicity, posters, promotion and one 16mm print. Hopes lie in stimulating recognition for the director and actors, and cultivating the word of mouth that began when Suburbanators was screened last year in festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Independent Film Market.

The filmmakers had hoped for funding for a 35mm print to enable a deal with a foreign distributor.

In August, Suburbanators – a tale of three Calgary losers combing the streets for dope and women and crafted in the fashion of Bottle Rocket or Mall Rats – will open on one screen in Toronto. Depending on success, the print will travel to Vancouver, Montreal and other Canadian centers.

Advertising will be limited to city weeklies and alternative newspapers like now and The Georgia Straight. Radio stations with a high percentage of male 18 to 34 listeners – like cfox in Vancouver – will be brought in on promotions.

An independently financed Suburbanators soundtrack is expected to create the most interest in the film.

Everest is not expecting to reap any windfalls at the box office. Its agreement with exhibitors will be standard: Everest will get 50% of the gross in the first week and 65% of subsequent weeks. The distribution strategy is expected to generate better revenues with the ancillary projects, Bishop adds.

Everest is also contracted to negotiate the video and pay-tv rights to Suburbanators. Bishop expects Superchannel/First Choice to pick it up. Everest will pay Suburbanators’ filmmakers a standard percentage of distribution revenues, says Bishop.