blinded by the light

• Adapted from a book 'Greetings from Bury Park' by Sarfraz Manzoor
• Title is play on words from Bruce Springsteen 'Greetings from Asbury Park'
• Memoir outlines Manzoor's experiences as a teenager in 1980s Luton – focuses on becoming a superfan of Springsteen
• Co-written by Gurinder Chadha – founder of bend it networks, bend it like Beckham
• Low to mid budget 'socially aware but essentially upbeat' coming of age film


  Made and set in Britain, Luton, budget 15 million
• Heavily dependent on finding a large film distributor


  To reach global audiences
• Film secured funding with Levantine Films, a subsidiary of Warner bros
• Although not hugely successful at box office, film was profitable, making back 1.2 times its production budget $17.2 million
• Budget 15 million - Made 17.2 million
• Production


  • Levantine films
  • Bend it films
  • ingenious media
  • cornerstone films
• Distribution


  • eONE entertainment (UK, Australia, New Zealand)
  • New line cinemas
  • paramount home entertainment (DVD release)
• Independent film companies


  Produce films outside a major film studio, Lower budgets, Have more personal artistic vision
• Funding


  Bend it films developed movie alongside Levantine films and ingenious media
• Levantine films


  Independent production company that had major success with 'hidden figures' in 2016 which grossed $230m worldwide box office
• Ingenious group


  Invests in projects that have the potential to deliver future profits
• Bend it networks


  Multi award winning film, tv and theatre company based in London, Headed by Gurinder Chadha OBE and Paul Mayeda Berges, Track record for appealing to diverse audiences around the world with award winning films
• Bend it TV


  Aims to take stories of characters who are normally marginalised and place them at the centre of the screen
• Gurinder Chadha


  One of UKs most respected filmmakers who is passionate about telling diverse stories
• Levantine films


  Independent motion picture production company that develops, produces and finances its project, Founded in 2012 by Jamal Daniel, Company is fully committed to finding and producing material that is character-driven, socially relevant and commercially viable
• Ingenious group


  Specialist investment manager with expertise in media, real estate, infrastructure and education sectors, Believe that investments not only for investors but also create a positive impact for communities in which they operate
• Production of blinded by the light


  As it was a low budget film – shot mostly on location around Luton, Genre- social realism – therefore didn't need to spend a lot on the mise-en-scene e.g. costumes, set design, Production company was not vertically integrated so needed to outsource the distribution – needed to partner up with distribution companies
• Distribution of blinded by the light

  1. 2018- UK, Australia and New Zealand distribution was secured by eOne entertainment

  2. January 2019- world premiere at Sundance film festival

  3. January 2019- picked up by New Line Cinema after a bidding wat with various other major film distributors

  4. August 2019- film was released in cinemas worldwide

  5. December 2019- DVD release distributed by Paramount Home entertainment

  6. 2020- amazon prime release - helped target more younger audiences (digital natives), broader audiences online
• Standard release


  A movie is first released through movie theaters, then, after 16 and a half weeks it is then released to VHS and VOD services, After an additional number of months, it is released to pay tv and 2 years after its theatrical release date it is made available for free to air TV
• Simultaneous release


  Takes place when a movie is made available on multiple forms of media at the same time all at once, Strengths- consumers can choose the medium which suits their needs, production studios only have to run one marketing campaign for all releases, Weaknesses- director M. Night Shyamalan claims it destroys magic of movie going, affects cinema owners
• New line cinema


  Distributed the film to most countries, Subsidiary of Warner Brothers – which is owned by Time Warner – which is owned by ATL – basically huge conglomerates – great way of getting higher budget for film and global audience reach, Helped secure theatrical release in 2307 cinemas across 85 countries
• Bend it films blamed low box office takings on New line cinemas as the release of film were too close to another similar film 'Yesterday' - bigger budget and stars
• Due to it being part of big conglomerate, was abel to produce a big marketing campaign
• BBFC (British Board of Film Classification)


  Is an independent, self-financing, not-for-profit media content regulator, State their mission is to: protect, empower, respect adult freedom, reflect changing social attitudes, efficient classification service etc., Create age ratings for film content
• Reasons for regulation


  • Economic
  • Public order
  • Individual rights and interests
  • Efficiency
  • Access
  • Free markets
• Hesmondhalgh cultural industries theory

  Globalisation enabled media industries to operate and distribute globally, Media companies try to minimise risk and maximise audiences through processes such as vertical and horizontal integration, genre, star power, distribution
• Film takes risk by making their central character ethnic minority – usually unconventional with Asian characters often pigeonholed as 'sidekick/ main characters best friend'
• However, as it targets a niche audience, it is able to showcase Asian representation and cultural diversity, therefore maximising profit
• The film emphaisises the possibilities for British produced films to thrive globally
• Uses Star power


  Attracts fans of Bruce Springsteen and director Gurinder Chadha
• Marketing techniques


  • Traditional marketing
  • Digital/ viral marketing techniques
• Traditional marketing


  Poster campaign which differed by region, Trailers of varying lengths released with a PG certification to make them widely available to a range of audiences globally, UK film trailer took up advertising slots in cinemas- trailer focused on nostalgic elements of film (80s mise-en-scene) to grab audience's attention – targeting 80s demographic, Cross promotion techniques- emphasizing the trusted brands (brand synergy) connected with film, using them to promote it, Promotional tours- stars appearing on talk shows, Film premieres in London, Luton, Asbury Park- new jersey – helps to attract press and create publicity, Newspaper articles – the sun
• Made 1.2x ($17.2 million) more of its production budget at box office – mostly due to its traditional marketing techniques
• After initial theatrical run, producers' mad further profits from streaming services, airlines, tv providers, DVD and Blu-ray directly to consumers – shows how traditional marketing is not always enough to profit a film
• Traditional marketing costly- incurring additional costs at around 50% of a films initial budget
• Digital/ viral marketing techniques

  Film festival- film featured in Sundance film festival, Film reviews- BBC 5 live's Mark Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, Social media (guerilla marketing)- promoted by film reviewers on twitter, Facebook page used viral marketing- encouraged users to like and share nostalgically motivated material e.g. interactive 80s themed polls, behind the scenes videos, Press junkets - Interviews with the cast and director by Variety, Fandango, BBC one, Word of mouth- producers retweeted positive comments about the film