Bullfrog Films

I called Bullfrog Films, mentioned by Jon Reiss as one of the major players in the educational market, and spoke with Elizabeth Stanley, who was really friendly and eager to help.  She said that while Bullfrog Films usually does not acquire narrative films, there are exceptions, but usually with biopics: fictionalizations of the life of a famous scientist, politician, etc.  She said she’d have to see our films first in order to make a decision, but Bullfrog Films probably would not be interested in most narratives or experimental films.  I specifically asked about Nils’ documentary, but she said films dealing with spirituality are not a strong part of their collection, and she couldn’t find any spiritual titles in their database.  Bullfrog Films is also uninterested in films about filmmaking, or behind-the-scenes featurettes (unless the featurettes are specifically about one of the films they acquire, in which case they’d be a selling point).

I also asked her about a hypothetical scenario, in which all of our films perfectly fit in the Bullfrog collection - would she acquire a bundle of films?  Basically, no.  Each film is always considered on its own merits, and Bullfrog does a separate contract with each producer.  The only scenario in which a bundle of films would be considered would be if a single producer has more than one film (s)he produced, and both films fit well into Bullfrog’s collection.  She did mention that Bullfrog has relationships with film cooperatives, though.

Ms. Stanley specified that the length of your film is very important in the educational market.  Under an hour is very important for high school, while colleges and universities aren’t as particular about length.  Having two different running times of your film is a selling point.  Study guides and bonus features are also selling points.

For more information, she pointed me in the direction of the National Media Market (www.nmm.net), a conference held every fall at which all of the educational distributors show up.  She also recommended Bullfrog Communities.com, especially if we have films relevant to their collection whose filmmakers are interested in public group screenings where admission is charged.