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 Lorber Fox Searchlight HBO IFC Janus Kino International Lion’s Gate MGM, 1923 – 1986 MGM, 1986 – Present Milestone Miramax Monogram New Line Cinema Newmarket New Yorker Films Orion Paramount, 1920-1929 Paramount, 1929 – 1950 Paramount, 1929 - 1950 Paramount, 1950 – Present Paramount Classics Polygram Republic Rialto RKO Radio Pictures Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Classics Strand Releasing THINK! Films Touchstone TriStar Twentieth Century Fox United Artists* Universal Universal Universal Focus USA Films Warner Brothers Warner Independent Pictures Wellspring Zeitgeist |
Walt Disney Company Sony Entertainment Walt Disney Company Dreamworks Time-Warner First Run Features First Run/Icarus Wellspring Twentieth Century Fox Timer-Warner IFC Janus Kino International Lion’s Gate Time-Warner Sony Entertainment Milestone Walt Disney Company Time-Warner Time-Warner Newmarket New Yorker Films MGM/Sony Paramount Pictures NBC-Universal NBC-Universal Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Sony Entertainment? Paramount Pictures Rialto Time-Warner Sony Entertainment Sony Pictures Classics Strand Releasing THINK! Films Walt Disney Company Sony Entertainment Twentieth Century Fox Sony Entertainment NBC-Universal NBC-Universal NBC-Universal NBC-Universal Time-Warner Time-Warner Weinstein Company Zeitgeist |
Swank Motion Pictures Sony Repertory Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures First Run Features First Run Features or First Run Icarus Films Genius Products Criterion Pictures New Yorker Films Swank Motion Pictures Janus Kino International Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Milestone Films Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures New Yorker Films Swank Motion Pictures Library of Congress Universal (35mm) Swank Motion Pictures (16mm) Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures or UCLA Film and Television Archive Rialto Pictures or New Yorker Films Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures New Yorker Films Strand Releasing Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Criterion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Universal (35mm) Swank Motion Pictures (16mm) Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Swank Motion Pictures Genius Products 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 |