Netflix becomes aggressive in courting first-time filmmakers

Stefon Bristol had a clear vision of his first feature project. As a graduate film student at NYU, he had already shot a short version of a movie called “See You Yesterday,” a story about a science-obsessed New York City teen who masters time travel to save her loved ones.

Bristol knew a film with a young black heroine, an unknown cast and a socially conscious message about police brutality might be a tough sell in traditional Hollywood.

But the aspiring director was determined to reach a wide audience. With the backing of mentor and producer Spike Lee, he took the idea to Netflix, which eagerly agreed to finance and distribute the movie.

The vote of confidence paid off: 12 million households watched at least 70% of “See You Yesterday” in its first four weeks after its release in May, according to Netflix.

“The game plan was to tell our story to as many people as possible and, honestly, I don’t think I would have gotten that number if it was in theaters,” Bristol said.

Forging relationships

Such testimonials are prized inside the Los Gatos company. As the streaming wars intensify, Netflix is aggressively courting not only Academy Award-winning filmmakers such as “The Irishman” director Martin Scorsese and “Roma” helmer Alfonso Cuarón, but also artists who haven’t yet broken out.

The idea is to forge relationships with up-and-coming directors before they become big names.

Last year, Netflix released 19 original movies from first-time directors on its streaming platform; another 11 have already been announced for 2020. About half of the first-time directors last year were women, and several titles hailed from directors of color whose films had diverse casts and characters.

The push is part of Netflix’s overall strategy to differentiate itself from other streaming rivals by offering consumers high quality feature films — with budgets from $5 million to more than $100 million — in addition to signature TV series such as “The Crown” and “Stranger Things.”

“Let’s be that home where we can find the next Spike Lee, find the next Kathryn Bigelow and be there from the beginning with them,” said Scott Stuber, Netflix’s film chief.

Creating opportunities

In widening its stable of film creators, the company is also creating opportunities for new and inclusive voices to establish their footing at a time when Hollywood has been criticized for a lack of diversity.

In 2019, only a dozen of the top 100 grossing films were directed by women, according to a study by USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative. That same year, just 16.8% of the directors were from under-represented race or ethnic groups.

“We’ve learned a lot of times people think a smaller budgeted film is inevitably a thing that only has a certain amount of audience available to it,” Stuber said. “What we’ve seen with some of these films (is) the ability for these things to penetrate culture all over the world.”

To a filmmaker hustling to get his or her first feature made, a Netflix release can offer a tantalizing alternative when fewer screens are available for indie fare: Instant worldwide distribution with 167 million subscribers and, in some cases, a Netflix payday.

Marketing muscle

Netflix acquires films out of film festivals, takes pitch meetings on new projects and brings in new voices through its relationships with established filmmakers.

That last scenario was the case with Bristol’s “See You Yesterday,” which was adapted from his thesis project in film school. When Lee came aboard as a producer, he facilitated the Netflix connection.

Bristol, who says he was working a part-time job and was broke at the time, received financing from Netflix to make his project into a feature film. Netflix provided feedback on development, as well as marketing muscle with billboards in L.A. and New York. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“Allowing my vision to flourish with a platform like this and with the help of Spike, that’s what I needed,” he said.

Rivals including Amazon Prime Video offer a much smaller slate of original productions. In 2019 Amazon had nine original films stream on its platform, two of which were from first-time film directors. In the same span, Netflix released 58 English-language original movies.

With the market dominated by studio sequels, remakes or comic book movies, indie filmmakers have fewer options at the box office.

“There are only so many weekends in a year,” said Nahnatchka Khan, who made her feature directorial debut with the Netflix rom-com “Always Be My Maybe,” starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. “All you hear about is counterprogramming and the big movies coming out. … With Netflix you have more chances. That’s what it comes down to.”

Benefits of big screen

But not all early-career directors are keen on premiering their work on streaming services.

Some prefer to have their films debut on a big screen in the conventional model (Netflix releases movies in the home at the same time or just after their theatrical release) or supported by traditional cinema marketing campaigns. Others who have worked with Netflix have privately expressed concerns about their movies getting lost in a library of content.

For example, the makers of 2018 blockbuster adaptation, “Crazy Rich Asians,” said they chose a traditional studio home at Warner Bros. for the film rather than a lucrative streaming deal with Netflix because of the respect the theatrical experience still commands, particularly for a film with the potential to make history for representation in Hollywood.