Short films require a different method if distribution than large scale blockbusters, the interest in a relatively different story must be accounted for and so it is highly doubtful that big distributors will give attention to a film that doesn't follow some sort of structure when it comes to blockbusters. This refers to Propps Theory of Narrative in which most plots can be seen to follow a certain chain of events leading to the overall conclusion.
Short films generally don't make that money and are mainly used for exposure of a new director/actor allowing much more elaborate films to be produced in the future. Going with small distributors would also avoid deals that would allow the distributor to completely take control of the film itself.
We could self distribute our own film, however this has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. These include;
- Full control of rights to the film
- No cuts of money are given to anybody else
- Very time consuming
- Need to be very legally up to date in order for certain rights not the signed away.
Numerous short film distributors exist that are much more lenient to these types of films which would be more useful in distributing our film.
Examples include;
Dazzle
Warp Films
Future Shorts