In addition to the information below, our programming chair hosts quarterly distribution workshops to help new programmers learn the ropes. Please contact us if you have any questions about programming.
There are many distributors that Doc does not - cannot - deal with. In fact, we never deal with Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Warner Brothers, United Artists, and many other (present and former) major Hollywood distributors. As a nontheatrical venue, we deal only with nontheatrical distributors - most often Swank Motion Pictures and Criterion Pictures, which own the rights to most Hollywood fare, old and new.
Independent distributors are another matter, however. We deal directly with many independents, though not all (e.g., Miramax is considered an independent, but their films are available only through Swank).
So, for example, do not list "Paramount" for your distribution. That does not count as a distributor. Instead, look up the film on Swank and Criterion. Chances are that one of them has it.
Swank Motion Pictures and Criterion Pictures have almost all recent, mainstream American films and older and classic Hollywood films, as well as some foreign films and independents. Check these distributors first, before you look elsewhere.
If neither Swank nor Criterion has the film, your next step is to go to Internet Movie Data Base: First, look up the title of the film. When you've arrived at the film's webpage, click on "company credits" (on the left-hand side of the screen). Here, you'll see the distributor(s) listed. Once you have the name of the original distributor, check the list below to determine the current distributor.
Original US Distributor |
Current Rights Owner |
Who Has the Print? |
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| Buena Vista Columbia Disney Dreamworks Fine Line First Run Features First Run/Icarus Fox Searchlight IFC Janus Kino International Lion’s Gate MGM, 1923 – 1986 MGM, 1986 – Present Milestone Miramax Monogram New Line Cinema Paramount, 1920-1929 Paramount, 1929 – 1950 Paramount, 1950 – Present Paramount Classics Rialto RKO Radio Pictures Sony Pictures Strand Releasing Touchstone Twentieth Century Fox United Artists* Universal Universal Focus Warner Brothers Zeitgeist |
Walt Disney Company Sony Entertainment Walt Disney Company Dreamworks Time-Warner First Run Features First Run/Icarus Twentieth Century Fox IFC Janus Kino International Lion’s Gate Time-Warner Sony Entertainment Milestone Walt Disney Company Time-Warner Time-Warner Paramount Pictures NBC-Universal Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Rialto Time-Warner Sony Entertainment Strand Releasing Walt Disney Company Twentieth Century Fox Sony Entertainment NBC-Universal NBC-Universal Time-Warner Zeitgeist |
Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures First Run Features First Run Features or First Run Icarus Films Criterion Pictures IFC Janus Kino International Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Milestone Films Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Library of Congress Universal Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Rialto Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Strand Releasing Swank Motion Pictures Criterion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Universal Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Zeitgeist |
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Exceptions |
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| Paramount Hitchcock Films Cassavetes Films Harold Lloyd Films Buster Keaton, 1917-1928 Chaplin Films |
Universal Castle Hill Lloyd Estate Douris/Classic Movies Chaplin Estate/MK2 |
Swank Motion Pictures Castle Hill Films Sony Repertory Kino International or Douris/Classic Movies Modern Times, City Lights, The Great Dictator: Kino International; Other Chaplin films: MK2 |
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| Pre-1923 and assorted “orphan films” | Public Domain |
Library of Congress, Kino International, Museum of Modern Art, Biograph Enterntainment, EmGee, Douris/Classic Movies, etc. |
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| Experimental/Avant Garde | Various | Canyon Cinema, Film-Makers' Cooperative, Museum of Modern Art, Douris/Classic Movies |