Coming Soon, an ongoing editorial feature from Playback, highlights the distribution strategies for soon-to-be released Canadian films. Here, we speak to A71 Entertainment’s Chad Maker and A71 Productions David Miller about the distribution strategy for indie feature The Valley Below. Distributor A71 Entertainment is a joint venture of A71 Productions and Agency 71.

The film: The Valley Below is set in the Drumheller Valley of central Alberta, and tells the stories of several residents of the same town over the course of a year. The film is split into four chapters with each focusing on a separate set of characters, such as a pregnant teen, a police office, a hard-drinking musician and a reclusive taxidermist. The Valley Below stars Mikaela Cochrane, Joe Perry, Kris Demeanor, Mandy Stobo, Stephen Bogaret, Lori Ravensong, Alejandro Rae and Alana Hawley.

Production credits: Directed by Kyle Thomas and produced by North Country Cinema. North Country Cinema is a Canadian media arts collective made up of four filmmakers, including Thomas, Alexander Carson, Cameron MacGowan and Nicholas Martin.

Distributor: Toronto-based A71 Entertainment is handling the Canadian distribution of the film across all platforms, including theatrical.

Theatrical run: The Valley Below is the first film featured in the Canadian Indie Film Series event screening initiative, launched by A71 Entertainment, Landmark Cinemas and MEI Group, which programs music, theatre and arts programming for cinema chains. With the program, The Valley Below will have a sneak preview-style screening on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at 18 Landmark theatres across the country.  Cast and crew will be in attendance for Q & A sessions after screenings at several of the theatres.

The film will also do week-long engagements with the possibility of holdover at Toronto’s Carlton Cinema and Landmark Cinemas in Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa starting Friday, March 6. Filmmakers and cast members will also be participating in Q & A sessions at March 6 screenings in Calgary and Toronto. The Valley Below will also have a week-long screening at Calgary’s Globe Cinema starting March 14.

“The film is set in Alberta, so we’re weighing it a bit heavier on the west coast,” Chad Maker, president of A71 Entertainment, told Playback Daily.

The decision to release The Valley Below in early March was also part of a broader strategy to take advantage of the buzz around the Canadian Screen Awards. The film received two nominations, in the categories of best supporting actor for Kris Demeanor’s performance and best original song for Dan Mangan’s “Wants”.

“We have the Sunday hit of the CSAs (broadcast gala), the Wednesday sneak preview and then we get the Friday opening,” Maker said.

Additional windows: The film will be made available on various VOD and digital platforms later this spring, including iTunes, GooglePlay, xBox and on-demand channels for Rogers, Shaw, MTS and Bell Media.

Marketing: A71 Entertainment will be using a mix of traditional media and digital ad buys to market the film, but the campaign will be more heavily weighted towards digital. The digital campaign includes promotion on social media and YouTube, while the traditional marketing includes ad buys in NOW, Georgia Straight and other smaller print vehicles.

The distributors also plan to take advantage of the film’s soundtrack. The Valley Below tells four distinct stories in four parts, with one artist providing the score for each part including Dan Mangan, Rae Spoon and Gavin Gardiner of The Wooden Sky. A publicist is working with the artists to arrange music-focused interviews with the musicians that will also highlight The Valley Below, Maker said.

Target audience: The target audience for The Valley Below includes art house film fans, and fans of independent music. The target demographic skews towards 18 to 35-year-olds, with a secondary target demo of 40 to 55-year-olds.

What makes this film unique: Both Miller and Maker said they were hooked by The Valley Below trailer when they first saw it during last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The impressive cinematography showcased in the trailer translates to the feature, Miller noted.

“It was awesome that when we actually got the see the movie…you realized that the trailer didn’t let you down,” Miller said. Maker also pointed to how well the soundtrack complements the film as one of its strengths, as well as the impressive performances from the cast.

Budget/financing: The Valley Below received financial support from Telefilm Canada’s micro-budget production program. Films eligible for the program must have budgets below $250,000.