Category Archives: Why We Are Doing This?

Our Top 10 Bestselling DVDs of 2016 & Interview with Tom

What a dramatic year 2016 was for films, dramatic in other ways too, but we’re going to focus on the films. To get an industry insider’s perspective we’re bringing you an exclusive interview with our MD Tom Abell to get his take on a wonderful year of films and the changes affecting our industry.

But first; to celebrate a bumper year at Peccadillo Pictures we’re taking you on a tour of our top 10 bestselling DVDs of the year. We searched the world to bring you the most thought-provoking, entertaining and captivating films possible. Whether they were hidden gems like GIRLS LOST or global behemoths like EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, each DVD is etched with our passion, love and care. Enjoy.

10 THEO & HUGO

The steamy French romance that was ‘too sexy’ for most cinemas, careened into tenth place despite being one of our last releases of the
year.

09 CLOSET MONSTER

A beautiful 21^st century “coming of age” tale complete with teenage angst, a thumping electronica score and an Isabella Rossellini-voiced Hamster.

08 The GIRL KING

Our captivating drama based on the scandalous life of Queen Kristina of Sweden, and her “royal bed-warmer” Countess Ebba Sparre.

07 CHEMSEX

A brave and unflinching journey into the hidden world of modern, urban gay life. Told through the eyes of ‘slammers’, survivors and the health workers fighting to protect them.

06 BOYS ON FILM 14: WORLDS COLLIDE

Once again the powerhouse that is Boys on Film has been a top seller this year, worlds collide in more ways than one in this stunning collection of award winning short films.

05 BOYS ON FILM 15: TIME & TIED

A sensation as always, the latest Boys on Film collection is our hottest to date. Between a time traveling closet, a 1976 trouser bar and a “zombie infested” sauna, it will have you re-examining your concept of time, age and the ties that bind us.

04 HOLDING THE MAN

The powerful true life story of a forbidden high school romance that was to last a lifetime. Holding the Man will have your heart plunging and soaring. Australian gay cinema has never been so strong.

03 DEPARTURE

An intimate film about love, loss and moving on that charts the beginning of the end of a mother’s marriage, the coming of age of her sexually confused son and an awakening that will make or break their new, unfamiliar family. Juliet Stevenson soars in this beautiful British drama set against the stunning backdrop of southern France.

02 THE GERMAN DOCTOR

A lonely 12-year-old girl unknowingly becomes friends with one of the world’s most terrifying Nazi war criminals in this dark, intense thriller. Based on true events, THE GERMAN DOCTOR will have your skin crawling and heart pumping all the way up to it’s dramatic, final minutes. This “Mesmerising and haunting” Argentinian film was a huge success across the board, particularly in stores.

01 EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT

Karamakate, a warrior shaman and last of his tribe, transcends the worlds of men and seeks truth through their dreams. Based on the diaries of Theodor Koch Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes, the only known accounts of many Amazonian cultures, this extraordinary “Oscar nominated” film was destined for our top spot.

So, which ones have you seen? Which titles do you need to see? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know!

We’re immensely proud of our top 10, and the contribution Peccadillo Pictures has brought to the film world. Our Managing Director Tom Abell, he’s been in the business a “long time” and knows it inside out. Tom’s taken some time out of his very busy schedule to give us a quick interview about the past year at Peccadillo Pictures, the changing face of Film Distribution and our biggest hit of 2016.

Did you have any idea how successful EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT was going to be?

TOM: We thought it was going to be successful, we knew that it would do well but no, its actual success was far greater than we expected. It was a wonderful surprise that the audience in the UK and Ireland took to the film as passionately as we had.

You’re passionate about finding new ways of getting films out there, what has been your most exciting distribution project?

TOM: Well, our most amazing campaign was for cinema release of EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT – most definitely. Every aspect of our promotion and marketing of the film worked perfectly in every single area. I can honestly say that in hindsight there isn’t one single thing that we would change, and it’s not often you can say that.

I think it’s the best campaigns we’ve ever done and we won the Screen Award specifically for that campaign. Getting that recognition from the industry itself was one of the highlights of last year.

Are there any films that you think were unsung heroes of 2016?

TOM: GIRLS LOST. It’s a very special film with lots of important social and sexual commentary, but at no point is it overbearing or preachy. Every country in the world has had problems marketing it, because it’s difficult to define a single audience for it – do you target a gay audience, a lesbian or trans audience or do you market it as a Disney film with a dark side?

It took us a long time, but I do think we got the tone spot on. Unfortunately, it hasn’t yet translated into sales, despite great acclaim from critics like Mark Kermode. It’s a little gem that many people still have to discover.

Peccadillo Pictures will be seventeen years old this year, how has the industry changed in that time and what have been the most dramatic shifts?

TOM: It’s changed enormously, the biggest change has been the move from 35mm to digital for projection in cinemas, and whilst it was supposed to make things more diverse it’s done the opposite. It’s made it much harder for smaller films to get into cinemas and now allows most of the cinemas to play the same films, which is not just pointless its tragic.

Obviously some screens do offer a more diverse selection of films and we applaud those cinemas who are still supporting non-Hollywood films.

How has VOD (Video On Demand) changed the way you distribute home entertainment?

TOM: While our VOD side is growing considerably year on year, it hasn’t yet replaced the revenue we were getting from DVDs. While we’re maybe not making as much money from it as we were in the good old days of DVD It is growing well and I’m quite confident that our success with VOD will continue to grow. For example we’re one of a handful of film distribution companies who have their own own page on iTunes, we have our own Peccadillo Player which is powered by Vimeo and every quarter our VOD sales on Amazon are increasing considerably, so the VOD side is really moving upwards for us.

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog, you can also keep up with the incredible adventures of the winking black cat on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Check back regularly for exciting new updates, exclusive content and information on our upcoming films before anyone else.

POUTfest 2016 Is Here!

Next week is going to be an exciting and busy time for the Peccadillo team. We will be celebrating the launch of POUT Fest 2016 with Holding the Man at Picturehouse Central on May 18^thso come on down and join us for some excitement.

Following on from the fantastic success of POUT 2015, we are bringing you all an opportunity to experience another POUT with all new titles and events ready to take up your calendar. POUT Fest 2016 aims to promote LGBT cinema with a variety of short films and feature length films that can inspire, move and emancipate the audience. To know more, read on at your leisure.

Holding the Man perfectly encapsulates what POUT Fest 2016 aims to achieve; it’s daring, entertaining, touching and makes one proud to be who they are. POUT Fest 2016 will also see the launch of The Girl King, a historical film that covers the reign of the first native, female sovereign of Sweden as she is thrust into an all-male court that has no tolerance for her awakening sexuality. Enchanting visuals and intrigue map the film throughout. Girls Lost is another fantastic addition to the line-up. The hypnotic film follows three girls who discover a curious plant that has a rare magical ability; transforming the three girls into boys. As their genders change, so does the world around them leaving their responses to this change profound. We are also honoured to be showing the classic film, My Beautiful Laundrette, starring Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke. The film is a classic example of identity and inexorable love. For some laughter and fun we also have the cult film Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same gracing the POUT screens with its witty and humorous tale of romantic emotions. For all you documentary lovers we have the privilege of showing Limited Partnership, which tells the inspiring story of the first same-sex couple in the world to be legally married; taking on the US government in court to prove the legitimacy of their affection for one another.

On May 20^th Peccadillo will also be celebrating the release of Departure, a British drama starring the talents of Juliet Stevenson (Bend it like Beckham and Truly, Madly, Deeply) and Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game). The stunning debut from Andrew Steggall confronts the issues of family, first love and the dawning of one’s sexuality. With impressive visuals and an incredible cast, this is one film that will arouse the senses of the audience and anyone who has dealt with the issues presented. Get on down to the cinema to show your support for this years’ most incredible debut!

For more on POUT visit poutfest.co.uk

THE TREATMENT has terrified and enticed UK film critics

Hans Herbots’ terrifying and controversial feature THE TREATMENT, based on the bestselling novel by UK crime writer Mo Hayder, is screening at cinemas across the UK this weekend. Only at selected venues that are brave to show it

Now that it’s been unleashed on the UK film critics, I don’t think they have seen anything like it for a while. Take a look below at what just a handful of the press are saying on the film:

“THE TREATMENT brought me close to a panicked run for the cinema door on a number of occasions, but I held steady… Clever editing and atmospheric cinematography makes a tense and powerful drama.”

– Kate Muir, The Times

“It will certainly find its audience among fans of Nordic noir classics such as THE KILLING and French drama THE SPIRAL… [THE TREATMENT] crawls under your skin and remains there long after.”

– The Sun

“Harrowing but brilliant… Taut, tense and at times very close to being too disturbing to watch, THE TREATMENT is a fine adaptation by Belgian director Hans Herbots of a novel by British crime-writer Mo Hayder…. Just be aware you might not be able to stop thinking about it for some time afterwards.”

– The Daily Mail

“Claustrophobic and disquieting, put over with gruesome conviction… Gripping and brutal Belgium Noir”

– Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

THE TREATMENT is unlikely anything we’ve released before, but you HAVE to see this film. It’s an unforgettable emotional juggernaut, by turns terrifying and totally compelling, and though it’s shocked critics, cinemas and audiences up and down the country, we’re proud to be bringing THE TREATMENT to the UK – dare you see it?

Why We Are Doing This: APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR – From Peccadillo MD

Peccadillo MD – Tom Abell

Out of the hundreds of American independent films that are made each year, how do you take just one and make it a box office success in the UK and the ROI? It’s much harder than it sounds.

Cecilia Frugiuele the producer of APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR approached us four years ago with a project (it had a different title then – we’re forbidden to mention the old name!) which was loosely based on a web series made by and starring Desiree Akhavan called THE SLOPE, where Desiree played one half of a superficial, homophobic lesbian couple. The web series is extremely funny, Desiree was simply fabulous and so was the film script, Peccadillo Pictures was definitely on board.

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR premiered in Sundance January 2014 and we finally saw it during the Berlin Film Festival in February 2014, the film was simply a breath of fresh air that blew away the winter cobwebs along with all the competition. We were in love. But how do we bring our love of the film to the UK and Republic of Ireland and make all of you love it too?

After meeting Desiree during last year’s London Film Festival the answer was clear, the only way to market the film effectively was to show the rest of you how amazing Desiree is. We needed to make all of the British Isles love her too. And how do we do that when nobody knows who she is?

When you don’t have millions of pounds to spend on a marketing and publicity campaign it comes down to good old determination and perseverance from our team mixed with Desiree’s natural charm. Very early on there were publicity references to Lena Dunham and GIRLS and comparisons to FRANCIS HA and to a smaller degree ANNIE HALL. We had to play to all of these in order to get initial press interest; it is so difficult to get the establishment to embrace something new, but if it sounds like something they already like they’re more likely to take a look.

Once we had their attention the next step was to take Desiree and the film beyond the comparisons and allow the press to “discover” something new. And in the months following the LFF that’s what started to happen. The realisation struck that Desiree and the film were none of the above, that they were very much their own entities and there was a brand new talent here with a unique, subtle voice that demanded to be heard.

Ladies and gentlemen, a star is born.

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