While I was blog-posting about an indie documentary which is still in the making, the filmmakers told me they had changed the title.

WHY CAN THAT HAPPEN?

1. You change a title because you can. When you make a truly independent film, you own it. You owe no lip-service to anyone, and no one owns your imagination, you can come up with your own title. MAke it free, make it unique, make it awesome. COMMENTS WELCOME: WHAT is YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TITLE EVER?

2. A GOOD TITLE GETS YOU INTO FESTIVALS
From my experience organizing festivals, I know Good titles get noticed and watched first, before juries get tired, overwhelmed.
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3. ABC comes before RTS in the ALPHABET.
Use a title that will end up on top (or bottom) of a list, but not in the middle. Special characters are ben better #HashtagTitle comes before “A Good Title” Worth changing for.

4. IF YOUR TITLE INCLUDES A TRADEMARKED NAME or BRAND, better to change it now. TIP: more Pirate is to leave the original title, get the publicity-making reaction before the fine, then find an even better, legal title.

Russian American filmmakers Kirill Mikhanovsky made an indie feature film in Brazil entitled “Dreams of Fish” and – before going to the Cannes Festival – changed the name to “Ana”. No problem. “Ana” won the award for best young director.

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