After seeing that we made #1 in Japan, Mark said to me, "Hey, you can finally say that you're big in Japan." (Screenshot from Hiro Fujii, Horror Shox)
This month we released in Japan!
Since the last post on this blog, I Am a Ghost has rolled out in France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium and finally Japan – and we're super happy with the response we've been getting for our little low-budget affair. The distribution of this film has been a long, slow rollout since its festival premiere in 2012, and its U.S. release in 2013.
Yesterday, Mark and I found out that we were the #1 ranked horror film on iTunes in Japan! (Thanks, Hiro!) And this morning, Jason Coffman put us on his list of "100 Favorite Horror Films 2000-2014" on Letterboxd. And as I go through the blog, I feel such pride in the laurels, reviews and lists we've had the good fortune to be given.
And I think about Jennifer Phang, whose beautiful film Advantageous is now on Netflix and all Digital HD platforms, and a statement she made at her Q&A in San Francisco really stuck with me: "This is an important time to rate our film. If you like the film, please rate it because while there are people who love our film, the people who hate films are always louder." And after hearing those words, I loaded IMDb on my phone and realized I hadn't rated Advantageous ANYWHERE. Rectified.
With that said, I will say that ever since we got on Hulu, we've watched our rating drop on IMDb from 8.1 to 5.9 – make of that what you will. (Yes, I'm aware that we have a 4 star consensus on Apple - different platform) And I gave in, thinking that it was the end of the rollout anyway. But the truth is, that over this slow roll out, every rating counts either for the future of I Am a Ghost or the future of Ersatz Film!
So I ask you all, if you like the film, please give it a star rating on IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Because, as a tiny DIY outfit, we don't have the marketing machine behind us to ensure that people come to check out our film. All we have are the tools that we've had the whole time: existing movie databases, social media, and you - our longstanding supporters, who we are eternally thankful for.
Rate I Am a Ghost on IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076862/combined
Rate I Am a Ghost on Rotten Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_am_a_ghost/
Thank you all so much for being with us through this long and exciting journey. It's been a real education for us in terms of navigating the new independent film landscape and it's certainly been arming us with tools for the next few films (which I'm happy to say that we're embarking on as I type). We're grateful and happy to keep working on this relationship we have with all of you for as long as you'll have us. :)
XOXO
H.P.