Over the summer, we completed production on our fifth movie, Above the Trees. In the coming months, Gary will share more details on the story, behind-the-scenes, and release plans.
But first, a thank you for your support of our careers and our previous films- especially Phoenix, Oregon which was released at a challenging time during the height of the pandemic.
We had just come off the excitement of a 60 city screening tour, and Phoenix, Oregon was due to release theatrically on March 20, 2020, the same date that all theaters closed.
Five days earlier, our distributor had raised the alarm.
Our team pivoted, built a streaming site, and sought the blessings of theaters across the country asking, “May we sell the film directly to your customers and send you half the revenues?”
It was highly unusual, but on March 20, as scheduled, the film released theatrically online, on our new site, Theatrical-At-Home.
As a result, Phoenix, Oregon became the #1 grossing film in the U.S. that week, the only film to report box office revenues, and the first film, of many, to split streaming revenues with theaters.
Over the next few months, we partnered with theaters, festivals, small businesses, and other indie filmmakers to stream films and share revenues.
Communities and artists came together to support one another, and we learned that indie film distribution was most enjoyable done in partnership within the relationship between curator-artist-audience.
It was a joy to meet audiences from around the country and to offer the opportunity for fans to support their local theaters, festivals, and small businesses through purchases on our website.
As we release our next films, we will continue to explore options for these types of rewarding partnerships both online and in-person.
As theaters reopened, Theatrical-At-Home was closed, but the technology was repurposed, and for the first time, all four of our films are available to stream directly on jomafilms.com.
Please enjoy 30% off using code JOMA30 for all streaming and merchandise on our new website through 12/15/22.
Best wishes and love to you this holiday season, and we look forward to hearing from you in the new year,
Annie
