More on YPF

The beginning of the media-hype and schadenfreude for first-time-director Martin Gero's Young People Fucking, or YPF as I'm going to quickly abbreviate the title to has begun. The whole thing seems just a little too calculated, but judge for yourself in this article written by the Globe.

What is positive about YPF is that it has distribution deals already in place with ThinkFilm and Christal Films. The negative being, is that ThinkFilm has not successfully marketed a Canadian film yet, and seem to be quite ambivalent about them once they actually have them under their belt. After a string of Canadian failures one wonders if they only take Canadian films to fulfill CANCON guidelines for their company - and until they demonstrate that they do care, they will be nothing more than an American company with an office in Toronto.

YPF will open at TIFF to roaring audiences like every other Canadian film at any major Canadian film festival. It will probably win the audience award. Tickets will be sold out and the lines long. Unfortunately, that's the core audience right there - festival watchers. Those initial packed screenings do not translate to packed audiences in multiplexes as the word "Canadian" in front of "movie" evokes widespread cultural cringe.

At every Canadian film festival, Canadian films are always sold out. It makes no difference whether the film is good or bad.

So, can YPF be marketed properly to the general populace? Well, they struck out with the name, but are hoping to capitalize on the rich history of films with "fuck" in the title. Certainly from the Globe interview Gero would like to think of his film in Knocked-Up romantic-comedy terms - but that's a $30 million dollar film, with a large Hollywood marketing budget (I saw building-sized posters six months before the film opened on Yonge Street). YPF was made for $1.5 million - well below the $5 million average American indie film, but probably still way to high given the risk of selling a Canadian film. To do well, the film probably needs 3 times that budget, and that's something I don't expect to see - certainly not from ThinkFilm, and not with an expletive in the title.

Am I saying the film is doomed before anyone even has a chance to see it? I hope not. I hope it's damn good and worth seeing. I hope it breaks even. Even if it doesn't, Martin Gero will be making more pictures in Canada. Failure is the norm.