How to find the right audience, create visibility and build a marketing strategy for your movie without a studio-sized budget.
Getting your movie financed and distributed does not automatically mean people will watch it.
One of the biggest challenges independent filmmakers face is getting their movie noticed in a world where audiences have more choices than ever before.
How do you find the people who are actually likely to care about your movie? When should you start marketing? Should you spend money on social media advertising? Are influencers, partnerships, PR and festivals worth it? And how do you turn attention into actual viewers, ticket buyers or streaming purchases?
In this live session, we will explore how independent filmmakers can approach movie marketing strategically, even without the resources of a major studio.
We will look beyond simply posting trailers and posters on social media and examine how audience identification, positioning, paid advertising, email marketing, partnerships, communities, influencers, PR and other approaches can work together.
We will also explore new and creative ways independent filmmakers can build attention around their movies by identifying organizations, communities and potential partners that already have a connection to the subject, audience or world of their movie.
The goal is not to give you one marketing formula that supposedly works for every movie.
It is to help you understand how to build a marketing strategy around your specific movie, your available resources and the audiences most likely to care about it.

WHAT WE'LL EXPLORE
• When you should start marketing your movie
• Why marketing should be considered before the movie is released
• How to identify the real audience for your movie
• Core audiences versus secondary audiences
• Why broad demographics alone are not enough to define your audience
• How to understand what gives someone a reason to care about your movie
• Positioning your movie for the right audience
• Creating a clear marketing message around your movie
• Posters, trailers, teasers and other marketing assets
• Finding strong hooks that make people curious
• Building awareness before release
• Organic social media marketing
• Paid social media advertising
• Meta advertising and audience targeting
• YouTube and video marketing
• Retargeting people who have already shown interest
• Email marketing and building your own audience database
• Turning interest into ticket sales, rentals or purchases
• Working with influencers and creators
• Podcasts and other opportunities for reaching niche audiences
• PR, media and press outreach
• Community-based marketing
• Working with organizations, associations and nonprofits
• Strategic partnerships and cross-promotion
• Sponsorships and brand collaborations
• Using your cast, filmmakers, experts and partners to expand your reach
• Cinema screenings, premieres and events as marketing opportunities
• How a movie's subject matter can become a marketing advantage
• How to market internationally without treating every country exactly the same
• Understanding the difference between impressions, clicks, engagement and actual conversions
• What conversion rates can tell you about your campaign
• Understanding customer acquisition cost
• Why a campaign with lots of views or clicks can still fail commercially
• Testing different audiences, messages and creative assets
• Learning from campaigns that do not perform as expected
• Marketing with a limited budget and deciding where to spend your money
• How distribution and marketing need to work together
• Direct-to-audience marketing and why it creates new opportunities for independent filmmakers
• Building an audience you can keep beyond one movie
• How the audience from your current movie can support your next project
• New and creative approaches to independent movie marketing
• Common marketing mistakes independent filmmakers make
• Live Q&A

LIVE + PERMANENT ACCESS

October 24, 2026 | 8:00 PM CEST (Berlin)

Approximate duration: 2 hours including live Q&A

INTERNATIONAL TIMES

Los Angeles: 11:00 AM PDT | October 24
New York: 2:00 PM EDT | October 24
London: 7:00 PM BST | October 24
Berlin: 8:00 PM CEST | October 24
Sydney / Melbourne: 5:00 AM AEDT | October 25

You can join the live session through AlefCine Stream on your laptop, smartphone, tablet or TV using our supported apps and devices.

CAN'T JOIN LIVE?

Your purchase also includes permanent access to the recording after the event.
You do not need to attend live to benefit from the session.
The recording will not be sold separately afterwards. Permanent recording access is available only to users who purchase the live event.

LIVE Q&A

Participants joining live can submit their own questions during the session.
This gives you the opportunity to ask questions about your own movie, audience, campaign, marketing strategy or the challenges you are currently facing when trying to reach viewers.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

This live session is designed for:
• Independent filmmakers
• Independent producers and directors
• Filmmakers preparing to release a movie
• Filmmakers currently looking for an audience
• Filmmakers whose movie is already available but is struggling to attract viewers
• Filmmakers preparing for theatrical, festival or streaming releases
• Filmmakers working with limited marketing budgets
• Producers who want to understand marketing before financing or producing their next movie
• Filmmakers considering self-distribution or direct-to-audience releases
• Anyone who wants to better understand how independent movies can find and build their audiences

Whether your movie is still in development, preparing for release or already available to audiences, this session is designed to help you think more strategically about who your audience is, how to reach them and how to turn attention into meaningful results.

Beyond the Movie | One journey from movie project to audience