Why Independent Producer Refuses to Let Latest Film Vanish in Distribution

Veteran producer Kim Jackson, president of New York Women in Film & Television, is known for fighting hard for projects. The latest, 'Confession,' follows twelve jurors closely weighing a controversial case. Up front, Jackson explains why this one won't be allowed to 'disappear into the distribution black hole.'

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Kim Jackson is a veteran independent film producer at Evotion, behind films such as "Blue Caprice," "King Cobra" and "Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain." She also serves as president of the New York Board of Women in Film and Television.

When I read the first draft of The Request, a creative twist turned into a strange juxtaposition of events and situations. Partly inspired by what was happening in Alabama, I felt a film was inevitable. I overturned Roe v. I watched Wade and it pissed me off.

An interesting story was developing in Alabama. Embryos from an IVF clinic were lost. It didn't matter if it was accidental or intentional. The owners of the embryos wanted justice. These women wanted some recourse for losing their reproductive plans. Who is responsible for killing their future children? RELATED STORIES Brian Duffield to star in Alex Garland's new sci-fi film at A24 made Zendaya a realistic film about survival inside a whale.

When I found out what was going on in Alabama, I had already decided to abandon the production of the film. Movies were supposed to have the power to change the world. I wasn't so sure anymore. It no longer brought me joy and I was tired of fighting for exhibition and distribution. I have been producing independent films for a long time. I started in a studio, but that kind of life wasn't for me. This type of company structure and hierarchy is not suitable for me. I was young and wanted freedom as a filmmaker. Everything was possible then. You need a healthy dose of that kind of illusion to make independent films that the industry doesn't want.

More than twenty years and twenty films later, some of them have made money, been released, and been praised. Most have not done this.

To be an independent producer you have to really love movies. We do not have any union representative. Without insurance, without a retirement plan, there are no benefits. Cast and crew can retire with a semblance of security. They are their own producers. This is an unknown and largely unknown position at the independent level.

The incident began in Alabama in 2020. In 2024, the lower court initially dismissed the civil case, stating that fetuses are considered property, not persons. Interesting...when does that property become a person? The Alabama Supreme Court disagreed with the lower court. A wrongful death statute in 1872 applied to all unborn children, regardless of whether they were in or out of the womb, the judges ruled. Fetuses have rights like children. attractive This was the moment when the spin of a film began to form around me.

I'm surprised this isn't bigger news in the mainstream media. This ruling created legal and criminal risks for fertility doctors. Several IVF clinics in Alabama have temporarily suspended their services and treatments. Discussions began about the personality of the fetus and access to reproductive care. And what was fascinating was that women and couples, both pro-life and pro-choice, were affected.

It also created the beginnings of a criminal legal structure around the fetus. How far can the court do this? If a woman has multiple embryos at an IVF clinic, can the government force her to terminate them all? And what about the sperm donor? what do they say

Inspired by this case and written by Zach Lobo, Dean Imperial, and Scott Organ, The Claim landed on my desk. Twelve months later, we were in the pre-production stage. Its themes of an ever-divided America, society's addiction to technology, and personality were timely, and should have been made now.

It takes a lot of time, energy and money to make a movie. You can spend a hundred million dollars, or you can spend a million dollars, either can bring an audience to catharsis. As a traveling producer, my ability has been towards the lower million dollar side of the spectrum. The route in this budget range is special and unique. There is more upward movement. More control. Investors are fine with only a percentage of the investment in the form of tax credits and deductions and losses claimed on the tax return. Making money is a bonus. A successful film is a bonus. It's about the art and the message, or it's meant to be.

In every film festival cycle, there are panels and lectures about the changing industry, how it's broken, and how to fix it. You can no longer make a movie without planning from the beginning how the audience will experience it. Is it commercial or an art house? Is it intended for the big screen? Is it live streaming? Are you going to watch it on your phone? You must be aware of the type of film you are making, who your audience is and how you will reach them.

In the case of "Request", we made a stylized black and white film to be experienced in the cinema with other people. Does not do streaming. We refuse a distribution deal that results in no shows, minimal guarantees, and no marketing dollars. I can't waste my energy telling this story only to have it disappear into the streamerverse black hole. And it's the right time for our film, because microcinemas and art house cinema consortia are on the rise.

We have very little control in this chaotic, ever-accelerating, ever-expanding world. What we have control over is valuable. It's an interesting dance for a producer to exercise control over a production. What should be forced and what should be allowed to take its natural course. It is the same in life, the film is also a collection of decisions and effects and consequences of those decisions. As I get older and time becomes more important to me, I become more real with myself. I will probably never stop making movies. If it inspires me, it becomes an uncontrollable and irresistible compulsion. But something has to change. Do I need to change?

"Please" became one of those ideas that made me care less about all the broken things in the industry. It shifted the focus to where it belonged, on how to tell this story in the best possible way that would reach the hearts and minds of as many people as possible if it were to be introduced to the world. It made me evolve my understanding of filmmaking. It doesn't matter that movies have the power to change the world. I don't know if they really can. But what I do know is that movies have the power to change my world.

The world premiere of The Plea will be at the 2026 Woodstock Film Festival on Friday, October 16.