Rom Boys: Covid-19 Update

As we all know we’re living in crazy times right now. The movie was finally finished back in February and had just started the film festival submission circuit. The idea being that 2020 was all about film festivals whereby the film receives a cinema screening in front of an engaged audience and then the film gets picked up by a distributor and it gets aired on TV / Independent cinemas and eventually streaming platforms.

Then along came the Coronavirus.

We all know the impact this has had on EVERY industry cross the planet. The film, entertainment and documentary world is no different. Every production has stopped, cinemas have shut up shop and film festivals either postponed or cancelled altogether (whilst some are working out ways to create virtual festivals). Almost as soon as the film was being submitted to festivals, they were being pulled.

In the meantime demand for finished films has gone through the roof. With most of the developed world now being advised to stay indoors, streaming services are facing an unprecedented demand which is why Rom Boys is so valuable right now (it’s a finished and polished piece of content) and as such we’ve been approached by three distributors who want to get it on the streaming platforms.

So what to do..?

The core idea of the film was always to drive investment, awareness and a renewed interest in Rom. We all know the struggle it has been in the past few years and in this current pandemic environment this is not going to help.

We’re all sitting at home now wanting to watch new stuff, and this just isn’t out there. It’s a PERFECT time to release Rom Boys to the masses BUT it’s not the perfect time for Rom.

What’s the point in releasing a film that WE think will really make people what to go to Rom or support it when the park is currently closed and inaccessible ? We want to release it when the country isn’t locked down and people are allowed to go back – indeed when it’s back open we’ll really start to appreciate how important places like Rom really are to the community.

We’d also LOVE for you to all see it on a big screen, in an independent cinema and at Rom itself on a big outdoor screening. If it goes straight to streaming (like the old “straight to video” days back in the 80’s) then people are less inclined to see it again and all bets are off.

You only get one shot at a release. Once it’s out there it’s out there.

So we’ve been talking to a UK based distributor who’s testing the waters on some other films he has in his portfolio and so we’re going to see what the landscape looks like with those releases which we should know about in the next couple of months.

Rom Boys SHOULD be airing at some festivals later this year. We’re holding our breath and crossing our fingers right now on which ones it’s accepted into and IF they even take place. We’re ALL in an unprecedented situation right now.

So bear with us, the handful of documentary industry professionals who have seen it think it’s a great film so we’re trying our best to give it it’s best shot.

The amount of love and work and time from everyone interviewed and featured in it as well as the production and post production team (original music composition, audio mix and sound design as well as graphics and animation working behind the scenes) all think it really deserves the best opportunity it can get….What that even looks like right now we’re all just trying to figure out…