A British film sales agency for independent cinema
Fewer films. Full attention. The right buyer in every territory.
Dawson's is a London-based international film sales agency, founded by Joey Dawson. We do two things, and they're really one thing: we find out what a film actually is, then we sell it for what it's worth. That means testing it with a real audience before it goes to market, and licensing it territory by territory on the strength of what we learn.
We represent no more than 5 features a year, because that's the only way either half of the job gets done properly.
Most films don't fail in the edit. They fail in the handover.
A film can be finished, festival-selected and well reviewed, and still go nowhere — because the moment it left the cutting room it joined a slate of thirty other titles and became a line item.
Producers are told, correctly, to ask a prospective sales agent whether they have the bandwidth to represent the film properly. It is the right question and it is rarely answered straight.
Ask us. The answer is a number, we'll tell you what else is on the slate, and we'll tell you where your film sits in the plan.
What we do
Four things, in the order they usually happen.
We test the film with an audience
A recruited audience watches it under normal conditions — people who match who the film is for, and who owe it nothing. We measure whether they'd choose it and whether it holds them, then tell you plainly what the numbers mean. Sometimes it changes the cut. Often it changes the price.
Audience testing →We market it to create desire
A film that buyers are already curious about sells for more than an identical film they've never heard of. We build that curiosity deliberately — positioning, materials, festival strategy, the right noise in the right places at the right time — and we do it in service of the sale rather than as a separate exercise.
Film marketing →We sell it, territory by territory
We license your film to distributors, broadcasters and platforms across the major markets, and handle the deal from first approach through to contract, collection and reporting. You see every offer, including the ones we advise you to turn down.
International film sales →And we consult, when that's what's needed
Not every film needs representation, and not every producer wants it. Sometimes you need an hour with someone who does this for a living. That's a service too, and it's the cheapest useful thing we sell.
Consulting →Why we take on fewer films
A sales agent's slate is a fixed quantity of attention divided among titles. Ours is deliberately short — no more than 5 features a year.
That isn't modesty. It's the mechanism. On a short slate, every film gets:
- Joey in the room for its meetings, not a junior with a one-line brief
- A territory plan written for that film, not a list of everyone we know
- Screenings arranged for the buyers most likely to say yes, in the right order
- A reply to your email the same working day
- A named person you can call, who has seen the film more than once
We turn down more films than we take. Sometimes because a film isn't ready, more often because we already have something too close to it on the slate and we'd be competing against ourselves. When we say no, we say why, and we'll tell you who we'd send it to instead.
The audience decides what a film is
Everyone in this business is guessing. A buyer sitting in a screening is estimating what strangers in another country will do eighteen months from now. A producer setting an asking price is guessing too, usually generously.
We'd rather know.
A film isn't finished when you lock the cut. It's finished when an audience decides what it is — and that happens whether or not you were in the room to hear it. The only question is whether you find out while you can still act on it, or after the deal is signed.
Studios have worked this way for decades. Independent producers mostly can't: the firms doing this at scale are built for studio budgets and a boutique feature never gets near them. So we do it ourselves, at a size that fits an independent film.
Nobody in this business gets the last word. Not the director, not the buyer, not us. Better to ask early.
Who we work with
Producers with a completed or nearly completed independent feature, looking for worldwide or international representation.
Directors and producers in post who want to know how the film plays while there's still time to change it.
Distributors and buyers looking for independent titles with clear audience evidence behind them.
We work with first features. Several of the films we're proudest of were someone's first.
Dawson's at a glance
- Founded
- 2018 by Joey Dawson
- Based
- London, United Kingdom
- Services
- international film sales, film marketing, audience testing and research, consulting
- Slate size
- no more than 5 features per year
- Markets attended
- all major markets
- Focus
- independent feature films — all genres, no documentaries currently
- Territories
- worldwide and international rights
- Contact
- joey@dawsonagents.com
Common questions
What does a film sales agent actually do?
A sales agent licenses your film's distribution rights to buyers in each territory — distributors, broadcasters and platforms — and takes a commission on what they bring in. They set asking prices, arrange market screenings, negotiate the deals. They are not your distributor, your financier or your publicist. They are the person who turns a finished film into deals.
Do I need a sales agent for my film?
If you want international distribution and don't already have direct relationships with buyers in each territory, yes — practically speaking. Buyers acquire at volume, from people they know, in compressed windows around the markets. If you're only after a single-territory release and you have that relationship, you may not need one.
How much commission do you take?
15–25% of gross receipts, plus market and marketing expenses capped at a stated figure (typically $5,000+). Both are written into the agreement before you sign, and the cap is a real cap. Industry commissions typically run from 10% to 25%, and expense caps vary widely — always get both in writing, with any agency.
How long is your agreement?
Subject to contract. We'd rather earn a renewal than hold rights we've stopped working.
Will you look at my film if it hasn't been to a festival?
Yes. Festival selection helps and it isn't a requirement. Send it.
What stage should I approach you at?
Earlier than most people do. If you're in post, we can help with positioning and testing while changes are still possible. If you're finished, send the film.
Send us the film
We watch everything that comes in, and we reply either way within 2 working days.