Filmmakers, Here is What You Need to Know About Selling Your Short Film by Henry Hewes, CoFounder of Hewes Pictures
Film Courage: Why did you begin Hewes Pictures?
Mr. Hewes: I have always been interested in the movie distribution end. I have a lot of respect for distribution because that really determines what product gets in the hands of consumers. I have experience with that in other industries, so really the strength of American industry and commerce is our capacity to distribute and I’ve felt like for a long time that the distribution process for movie and video products in the US is inadequate and does not give people the full range of video products that are available and that they want to consume.
Film Courage: Did your initial plan for Hewes Pictures evolve into another business?
Mr. Hewes: When we started our goal was to enter into the business of distribution. We had a somewhat open ended concept of that, that included both short and feature films. We decided to concentrate on the short film end mainly because we soon discovered we were the only ones in the US doing it. We remain interested in other areas of video and movie distribution that include TV, feature length films and even micro films which is the new thing that has been coming up.
Film Courage: How many titles have you distributed since the beginning?
Mr. Hewes: I don’t have a number off the top of my head but there are a lot.
Film Courage: Can you recall the most rewarding cinema experience as a child?
Mr. Hewes: Actually, I can, it’s the first movie I ever remember seeing. I was 6 or 7 years old and it was in the Memorial Hall for Veterans of WIII which was our local movie theater in Bermuda. It was an old building where they had a screen and showed movies on Saturday nights. And the movie I remember was The Alamo with John Wayne. I was with my brother who was 4. We walked half an hour in the dark home because the movie ended around 9 at night.
“Any thing or person that is seen or heard in the film needs clearance from the filmmaker. This includes music, artwork, and video clips.”
Film Courage: What do you see missing in many short films of today?
Mr. Hewes: That’s a presumptuous question because some of the short films today are missing nothing, others are missing everything.
Film Courage: What has improved in short films from just five years ago?
Mr. Hewes: The most dramatic improvement is in the technology. The availability of editing and camera technology to people without a lot of economic resources has enabled people making short films to make products that are technologically very good.
Film Courage: Much debate exists about short versus feature films. Why do you think short films are crucial to directors, producers and actors?
Mr. Hewes: First because short films don’t fall into the paradigm of requirements for a full-length film, a filmmaker with less resources can often make a short film where he or she would be challenged to make a full-length film. The short film gives people an…(Read the full Q&A via FilmCourage.com here).
BIO:
As a real estate developer, Henry Hewes has developed and constructed a variety of real estate products. In New York City, he has developed, constructed, or reconstructed 37 different structures. These include over 1000 units of housing and commercial centers.
Through the European American Trust Corp he was active in the development business in Poland where his projects include the highly acclaimed Metropolitan Complex. In Ecuador he has worked through the U.S. Ecuador Development Corp., which is involved in five residential projects that have a total of 3000 residential units and commercial centers. The best known of these is the Satellite City of Los Angeles in Guayaquil.
In addition to his core business Mr. Hewes has been an active venture capitalist with investments in real estate, technology and communications. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Destination Hotel Partners; he is a Board Member of American Planning and Development Corp., Badillo Partners, Agrotropical of Ecuador, Ecuador Produce, U.S. Ecuador Development Corp., Self-made TV, Washington Chronicle Corp., CEG Corp. of Panama, and of several real estate investments corporations.
CHECK OUT HEWES PICTURES:
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