The joys or not so joyful process of selling an indie film

After putting the word out on the street that we were in search of a sales rep, to help us sell "Home Sweet Home" we found our guys.  Among our options was a company that wanted 8500 dollars up front to sell our movie.  A huge red flag, that left us with major questions. After reviewing this company on imdb.com we saw that they had many films under their belt, and they were far from a scam.  But the reality for us was that we do not have the money to hand over to someone on a whim of maybe being able to deliver.  I dont think anyone should want money up front, its like an agent asking an actor to pay them to rep them.  Anyone who reps a movie, or an actor should only recieve money after they secured a deal that brings in money for their client.
We are happy to sign a contract with a start up company, that was a perfect fit for our start up production company trying to sell our first feature film.  I am hoping this relationship will grow in the years to come, and that everything will move ahead smoothly.
Moral of the story, DONT pay anyone to rep you, there are plenty of agencies out there that wont charge you up front fee's.

Albuquerque Film Festival and all that jazz

I just returned to LA after two weeks of film festival awesomeness in New Mexico.  We premiered our movie "Home Sweet Home" at the Albuquerque Film Festival, where we WON audience Choice Award and Best horror Film.  We had a great turn out to our movie, and one of the highlights for me was speaking on a filmmaker panel with the legendary Alex Cox, director of Repo Man.  It was exciting to be among seasoned filmmakers, and to find we all shared the advice.  It really is all about "Just doing it" and not "thinking about it to much".  Take one day at a time, so you dont feel overwhelmed by your project.
We started creating an app, back in January, and we are still working on it now in September.  I dont think we knew it would take this long, or we might have never started. `But thats the key to success, just do what you can that day, and eventually you will have a finished product.  It was exciting to hear Alex Cox and his wife talk about this, about how important it is to take each task one day at a time.  Nothing is built in a day, and no man is an island.  You need to be patient, with the long term goal in mind, and surround yourself with creative dedicated people, who wont give up when things get tough.

We are now in the process of meeting with sales reps, to sell our movie.  This is a new and exciting venture I have never done before.  I will be documenting the process here.
And if you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask.

Cheers,
Alexandra
www.mirrortreeproductions.com