The indie romantic-comedy You, Me & Her will be the first film to utilize a new experimental digital and marketing platform offered by The Fithian Group that will match producers and filmmakers directly with theaters without having to partner with a traditional distributor.
The Fithian Group was founded late last year by John Fithian — who headed up the National Association of Theatre Owners for nearly two decades — alongside two of his longtime lieutenants at NATO, Patrick Corcoran and Jackie Brenneman.
Earlier this month, the consulting firm announced Attend, its new distribution and marketing marketplace that is in its experimental Alpha development phase. The goal of Attend is to match a movie such as You, Me & Her with the right makeup of cinemas based on various data. A filmmaker will upload various data into the platform, which will use AI to determine where best the movie might perform.
The platform has endorsed by a weighty list of nearly 100 filmmakers and producers including Damien Chazelle, Patty Jenkins, Sean Baker and Lorenzo de Bonaventura.
You, Me & Her, about whether a whether a ménage à trois can save a marriage, is directed by Dan Levy Dagerman from a script by his real-life wife, Selina Ringel, who also stars in the film alongside Ritesh Rajan and Sydney Park. Roberto Aguire, Marianna Burelli, Graham Sibley and Anna Campbell co-star.
“We tell stories inspired by our lives. This film was sparked by a moment that made me question my sexuality, societal conventions, and honesty in relationships, which, needless to say, was quite a journey to experience with your husband [Dagerman]” said Ringel.
As theater operators continue to suffer from a lack of product due to production delays caused by the pandemic and the labor strikes, Attend is designed to grow the annual theatrical release slate by offering exhibitors mid-range movies that have all but disappeared from cinemas, international movies seeking a domestic release, and independent movies that typically receive limited theatrical release but could gain broader audiences through data-driven theater selection, scheduling and marketing.
The Fithian Group is working with the support of The Vista Group and its leading technologies to develop the platform.
“We believe there is an enormous opportunity to rethink the way movies reach theaters and the way movies reach audiences,” says Brenneman. “Attend allows for an unprecedented collaboration between filmmakers, theater owners and marketers in expanding the reach of theatrical moviemaking. With You, Me & Her, and Dan and Selina’s embrace of experimentation, we think we have an ideal project to build the tools that will become Attend.
