Today we kick off an on-going survey of documentary insiders about new opportunities and challenges in distribution. Our first correspondent is Liesl Copland from Red Envelope Entertainment (the original content division of Netflix). Last year at TIFF, Red Envelope emerged as an important player acquiring titles like The Prisoner Or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair (pictured). Liesl previously worked for Cinetic Media on funding and sales of independent films, including many documentaries.

Liesl generously gave expansive answers to three questions below, touching on the latest developments in distribution. When she uses lingo like VOD and PPV, she's not talking about venereal diseases, but "video on demand" and "pay per view." Take it away, Liesl...

Q: What changes do you see in the documentary marketplace?

COPLAND: The doc marketplace exploded wide open and then in the past couple of years it has begun to mimic more the fiction marketplace and has restricted, making it tough for some films to find a home (in theaters, TV, video, and especially VOD).  In other words, there is a ton of great filmmaking and only so many "slots" so films either have to have real P&A [prints and advertising] behind them or have a tremendous amount of grass roots support to create awareness at a level where they can actually break even and their investors recoup.  This has caused doc filmmakers, who actually have more opportunities at the local and grass roots level than any fiction filmmaker could ever hope to have, to be craftier than ever in creating "filmanthropy-friendly" partnerships for their movies -- and they have gotten really good at self-distribution.  The community at large is very savvy, and they help each other.  But I want to see investors stay at the table in the doc space.

So, I think it is time for the distribution marketplace to catch up to the craftiness that the filmmakers exhibit quite regularly.  It is we the distributors who are lethargic in coming up with innovative models and creative strategic promotional relationships, and when we try, the potential strategic partners are slow in responding.  I sense there is willingness from certain entities to experiment with documentaries -- on VOD, PPV, the Internet -- but I am still waiting for the documentary version of "The Blair Witch Project" to allow for the pathfinder effect, something companies can follow and hopefully make money, so the filmmakers have more opportunity again.  It needs to be a new model. (Meanwhile, of course Red Envelope Entertainment hopes to be part of that release!)

Q: What advice can you give doc makers on navigating distribution?

COPLAND: Get good advice, trust your gut, be your film's best champion -- on a business level as well as you relate to your subject matter.  Know the marketplace.  You learn that by going to film festivals, panels and Q&A's, and by of course becoming Thom Powers' best friend!  And in deals, think about two things: 1) EYEBALLS - where eyeballs are, money will eventually come, even if it isn't in an advance; and 2) BACK END - get real participation in profits, have someone good negotiating your deals who knows the doc marketplace specifically.

Q: What do you hope to get out of Real to Reel this year?

COPLAND: I want to see someone push the "documentary storytelling" needle forward.  The bar is high now for docs to make it to market.  We have seen some innovative hybrid documentary forms in the recent years (and Toronto has been a big supporter - "Be Here to Love Me," "Kurt Cobain: About a Son," "The Prisoner or, How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair" as well as film festivals, of course, like Sundance - "Protagonist," "Chicago 10").  I hope to see a film that is so innovative, so personal and so fresh that it creates a new offshoot in form almost... Kind of like what "The Kid Stays in the Picture" did when it came along -- of course from an authentic place.