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 also produce the sales estimates producers use to close finance.
We represent no more than [[NUMBER]] 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
International sales
We license your film to distributors, broadcasters and platforms, territory by territory, across [[NUMBER]] markets. We 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 →Audience testing and research
Recruited screenings with viewers who match your film's actual audience, structured questionnaires, and a written report within [[NUMBER]] working days. You find out how the film plays before a buyer does — while there's still time to act on it.
Audience testing →Sales estimates for financing
Territory-by-territory estimates at low, mid and high, prepared to the standard gap lenders and banks expect. If you're raising against unsold territories, this is the document that makes the raise possible.
Sales estimates →Positioning and materials
Comparable titles, audience definition, and a view on how the film should be described before anyone sees a poster. Positioning decided early is worth more than a campaign bolted on late.
Work with us directly
Consultations from $30, representation, and the complete film sales & marketing service — every engagement is booked online and confirmed the same day.
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 [[NUMBER]] 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.
We test the film before we sell it
Studios have tested films for decades. Independent producers mostly can't — the firms that do this work at scale serve studios at studio prices, and a boutique feature never gets near them.
So we do it ourselves, at a scale that fits an independent film.
A recruited audience watches the film under normal viewing conditions. We measure how it plays and how it sells — two different things, both of which a buyer will ask about. You get the numbers, the verbatim comments, and a plain-English read on what they mean.
Sometimes it changes the cut. Sometimes it changes the positioning. Often it changes the asking price, because we can walk into a meeting with a figure instead of an opinion.
Who we work with
Producers with a completed or nearly completed independent feature, looking for worldwide or international representation.
Producers in financing who need credible sales estimates to close a gap loan or attract equity.
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 [[GENRE/TERRITORY FOCUS]] 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
- [[YEAR]] by Joey Dawson
- Based
- London, United Kingdom
- Services
- international film sales, audience testing and research, sales estimates for film financing, positioning
- Slate size
- no more than [[NUMBER]] features per year
- Markets attended
- [[e.g. European Film Market (Berlin), Marché du Film (Cannes), Toronto, American Film Market]]
- Focus
- independent feature films — [[GENRES]]
- 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, and produce the territory estimates lenders use when financing a film. 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?
[[X]]% of gross receipts, plus market and marketing expenses capped at [[£X]]. 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?
[[X]] years, with [[TERMS]]. 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 financing, we can prepare estimates. If you're finished, send the film.
Send us the film
We watch everything that comes in, and we reply either way within [[NUMBER]] working days.