Contributor

The uncomfortable truth about niche films

Image: Crip Camp © Betty Medsger & Netflix.

Niche films provide a glimpse into diverse stories and overlooked communities, but discovering them on giant streaming platforms is harder than ever, says Bohemia Media’s Miranda Fleming. It’s time for niche films to have a home of their own

It’s time for niche films and niche audiences to have a home. Niche films bring with them massive communities from all over the world, many of them online. Successful niche films are not a new enigma by any stretch –films like Moonlight (LGBTQ+), Walk With Me (mindfulness) and Crip Camp (disability) used their niche audiences to springboard their highly successful marketing campaigns both here and in the States.

Niche films provide an incredible glimpse into diverse stories and the worlds of communities which are so often overlooked by mainstream filmmaking. It’s these films that so many filmmakers passionately want to change the world with –to tell their story and make a real impact.

Are these diverse stories getting to wide audiences though? Our world is not only becoming polarised by social media, it’s also becoming polarised by the giant film streaming platforms. Just like Facebook, the streaming platforms serve up films to audiences selected by their algorithms. If you have never actively searched for a disability film, or you have skipped over one in a menu, the algorithm will presume that you are not interested in disability films.

If you need educating about diversity (as so many people of the world do), this polarisation will be taking you ever further afield from new knowledge and education. The result is that people’s view of the world is becoming increasingly narrow.

Audiences are also struggling to find diverse content among the wide selection of choices offered by streaming platforms. Curation is still underutilised by the large platforms like Netflix and Amazon. Inadequate search and recommendation tools are an all too common frustration of viewers.

Although there is a higher representation of diversity in films, which has been greatly supported here in the UK by the BFI’s Diversity and Inclusion policy and BAFTA, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these smaller niche films find a good home on a streaming platform. Many small niche films will be bundled by distributors and lost forever in a sea of titles on the major streaming platforms.

Now more than ever the world needs a diversity focused distributor and a film streaming platform to house these important and urgent stories –and to get them seen by wide audiences.

That’s why we created Bohemia Euphoria. The streaming platform offers films to rent such as

NOw MORE THAN EVER THE wORLD NEEDS A DIVERSITy FOCUSED DISTRIbUTOR AND A FILM STREAMING pLATFORM TO HOUSE THESE IMpORTANT AND URGENT STORIES – AND TO GET THEM SEEN by wIDE AUDIENCES.

Sundance winner Clemency and LGBTQ+ film Rebel Dykes. It has also been built with integrated community building tools to help find, build and engage diverse audiences. For example, it provides livestream premiere events with filmmakers in conversation with influencers and organisations relevant to the film’s community. In October, it launched a takeover page for LGBTQ+ and Rebel Dykes fans –the film is being distributed by Bohemia Media and BFI Distribution.

By bringing diverse moderators to host livestream Q&A’s after film showings, we are able to extend out to more audiences within niche communities. In Bohemia’s first three months of beta with no paid marketing, we have had over 650 people purchase tickets for the Q&As –each screening bringing a new community to Bohemia. Ultimately Bohemia Euphoria will be a home for niche films with inbuilt audiences for relevant communities and it will enable filmmakers and content creators to find their audiences without having to pay big bucks for marketing. In many ways, smaller independent niche films like these are easier to market and find audiences for than the mid-level budget films (GBP1 million to GBP4 million). Films like these can’t afford A List stars and unless the film gets an award or it catches the public's imagination with a zeitgeist theme, it will be expensive to market.

If a film has a niche audience, the digital avenue of social media, grass roots and outreach partnership to finding a targeted community and audience becomes easier. I hope Bohemia Euphoria adds to that ease and provides a solid home for diverse films and audiences.

Miranda Fleming is a digital audience engagement expert and head of marketing for new diversity film distributor, Bohemia Media.

Founded by Phil Hunt and Lucy Fenton, Bohemia Media focuses on films which give voices to historically marginalised groups that are not well-served within mainstream culture.

Bohemia Media’s first film, the 2019 Sundance winner, Clemency, utilised a ground-breaking revenue sharing model with cinemas and grassroots organisations. Since then, Bohemia has acquired over 50 titles that all focus on giving voice to underrepresented groups. This year Bohemia launched its new film streaming and livestream platform, Bohemia Euphoria, which Miranda developed and built out for Bohemia Media.

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