Your Movie Is Finished. Now the Distributor Wants Your Paperwork.

You did it.

After months—or maybe years—of development, financing, production, editing and post-production, your film is finally finished. Better yet, a distributor is interested.

Then comes the email.

They need your paperwork.

Lots of it.

For some independent filmmakers, this is when they discover that finishing a movie and having a movie that is legally ready for distribution are two very different things.

A distributor isn't only interested in whether your film is good. Before putting your movie into the marketplace, the distributor needs to know that you actually have the legal rights necessary to distribute what you've created.

And that means documentation.

Why Does a Film Distributor Need All This Paperwork?

Think about everything that goes into making a film.

There's the screenplay. The actors. The director. Producers. Crew. Locations. Music. Artwork. Photographs. Archival footage. Brands. Graphics. And potentially dozens of other creative contributions and third-party materials. Someone may own rights in each of those things.

A distributor taking your film into the marketplace doesn't want to discover later that an actor never signed a release, the production didn't obtain the proper rights to a song, or someone else claims ownership of the screenplay. That's why your legal paperwork matters.

The distributor needs evidence that the production obtained the rights necessary to exploit the film—and that those rights can be passed through to the distributor under the distribution agreement.

It Starts With Your Chain of Title

One of the most important parts of your legal delivery package is your chain of title.

Chain of title is essentially the documented history showing how the production acquired the rights necessary to make and distribute the film. For an original screenplay, that may include agreements with the writer and documentation transferring the appropriate rights to the production company.

If your film is based on a book, article, life story or other preexisting material, the chain may be more complicated. You may need option agreements, purchase agreements, assignments or other documents establishing your right to adapt that underlying work.

The objective is simple:

Can you prove that your production owns or controls the rights it claims to have?

If the answer depends on a handshake, an old text message or "we talked about it," you may have a problem when it is time to deliver the film.

Your Cast and Crew Agreements Matter Too

Your actors and crew members aren't simply people who helped make the movie. Their contributions can create legal rights and obligations.

Your production files may need signed agreements addressing issues such as compensation, services, intellectual property, credits, use of name and likeness, and the production's right to use the person's contribution in connection with the film.

This is one reason paperwork should be handled during production, not reconstructed after the fact. Tracking down someone six months after filming to get a missing signature is a very different experience from getting the agreement signed before that person steps onto set.

Did You Clear the Music?

Music can create another major clearance issue. Having access to a song does not mean you have permission to put that song in your movie. Depending on how music is being used, a production may need rights relating to both the underlying musical composition and the particular sound recording.

That means the song playing beautifully underneath your most emotional scene can become a distribution problem if the appropriate rights were never secured.

Independent filmmakers should think about music clearance while making the film—not after a distributor asks whether every piece of music has been properly licensed.

Locations, Appearances and Third-Party Materials

The same principle applies throughout the production.

Did you obtain the necessary location agreements? Do you have appropriate releases for people appearing in the film? What about photographs, artwork, footage, clips or other third-party materials appearing on screen?

Not every item that happens to appear in a frame automatically creates a clearance problem, and the legal analysis can depend on the circumstances. But productions should identify potential rights issues early enough to determine whether permission, a license, a release or another solution is necessary. Waiting until delivery gives you far fewer options.

Then There Is E&O Insurance

A distributor may also require the production to obtain errors and omissions insurance, commonly called E&O insurance. E&O insurance is designed to address certain risks arising from the content of the film, which can include claims involving copyright, trademark, defamation, privacy and other issues depending on the policy.

The underwriting process itself may expose weaknesses in your legal documentation because the insurer may want information about the production's clearances and rights.

Again, that is not something you want to discover for the first time when a distribution opportunity is already sitting on the table.

Build Your Legal Delivery File While You Make the Film

The best time to prepare for legal delivery is not when the distributor sends you its checklist. It's while you're making the movie. Create a system for maintaining your production's legal documents from the beginning. Keep executed agreements organized. Maintain your releases. Document your licenses and permissions. Track potential clearance issues as they arise.

And don't assume that every distributor will request exactly the same documents. Delivery requirements can vary depending on the distributor, the film and the deal.

The goal is to build a solid legal foundation so that when an opportunity arrives, you're not starting from zero.

A Finished Film Isn't Necessarily a Distribution-Ready Film

Independent filmmakers understandably spend enormous amounts of energy getting the movie made. But, filmmaking is both a creative endeavor and a business. The value of a finished film can be significantly affected if the producer cannot establish the rights necessary to exploit it.

So don't treat contracts, releases, licenses and clearances as paperwork you'll deal with later. They are part of making the film.

Because when the distributor finally says, "We want your movie," the next question may be:

"Can we see your paperwork?"

And you want the answer to be yes.