We’re Henry C. Lystad and Tom Putnam. Together, we combine more than 30 years of groundbreaking distribution and grassroots marketing know-how to offer filmmakers a new way to release their films — one that’s designed to reduce distributor overhead by controlling and capping costs to give rights holders much more control over their films’ future.

Monkey Wrench Films came into being because we saw a need in the marketplace — fewer and fewer traditional distributors are acquiring completed films, and their offers are becoming increasingly demanding. Only one out of every three independent features currently obtains distribution, and of those 33% only one in ten make a profit within the first three years. (Don’t take our word for it, just click here.)

Our goal is to change all that.

As the filmmaker behind the groundbreaking BURN films — some of the most successful documentaries of all time — Tom has lectured on his filmmaker-forward distribution model at the Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, the International Documentary Association, and dozens of film festivals and schools around the world.

Henry makes the theatrical magic happen — having produced thousands of live event screenings, and released dozens of feature films in special theatrical roadshow events around the world, first through Telluride Mountainfilm, followed by 5+ years as Director of North American Operations for an international adventure film distributor, and then via his boutique distribution company Sonder Entertainment.

Together, we’ve created a model that gives filmmakers the kind of flexibility they’ve never had before with a suite of distribution modules:

●      Theatrical

●      Broadcast/streaming/airline sales

●      PVOD/TVOD/AVOD digital

First, we work hand in hand with filmmakers to develop a strategy that fits their unique needs. To push through the white noise of an incredibly crowded landscape, we work to build customized marketing partnerships with brands and organizations prior to the release — allowing small films to have a worldwide marketing presence and find core audiences who are most likely to pay to see the movie.

If a film calls for a theatrical release, we activate our network of exhibitors to book as many or as few screens as make sense — working directly with theaters to cut out the (many) go-betweens who typically take a big cut of profits.

And we’ve found that, even in this climate, audiences will support intriguing films with a well-defined demographic! The key to this audience activation is creating special events around the theatrical release, often bundling them as fundraisers for local non-profit groups aligned with a film’s themes.

Thanks to our relationship with multiple digital aggregators and sales agencies, we then match the right film with the right platforms — reducing the pitfall that most films fall into when it’s time for home video as distributors rack up tens of thousands of dollars placing movies on platforms where no one can find it.

We’ll also pitch the film to 60+ airlines and perform the hard work to find additional third-party sales companies who can share the film with any regions and platforms we may not cover.

And, most importantly, unlike distributors that tie up a film for 10+ years, our model is flexible enough to allow filmmaker to keep their copyright and retain ownership of their film. That’s because we can work on either a service fee or backend percentage depending on the film — allowing our clients to also know exactly what is being spent and avoid traditional distributor markups. And because of our volume of films, we’ve negotiated industry-leading rates for trailer editing, key art creation, and aggregation that are a fraction of what a filmmaker would typically pay themselves.

We look forward to answering your questions and hearing your thoughts about our processes and services!