Roco Films and Gathr Launch Documentary Speakers Bureau (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor Distribution platform Gathr and documentary distribution agency Roco Films have teamed to create Roco Voices, a new speakers bureau.

Roco Voices, launching Nov. 14, will offer live speaking engagements with filmmakers and subject matter experts from Roco Film’s docu film catalog.

The initial cohort of filmmakers to debut with Roco Voices include Academy Award winners and nominees Oliver Stone (“Nuclear Now”), Ross Kauffman (“Born Into Brothels”), Justine Shapiro (“Promises”), Sam Green (“The Weather Underground”), David France (“How to Survive a Plague”), Geralyn Dreyfous (“The Square”), and Roger Weisberg (“Sound and Fury”). (All Roco clients have the opportunity to opt-in.) Powering ROCO Voices is Gathr’s talent booking technology. (The company started beta-testing earlier this year.) The collaboration is a one-stop shop for Roco Films’ customers to search, discover, negotiate, and book filmmakers, doc talent and subject matter experts while also licensing impact-driven and educational film screenings. “The shared experience of an intentional film screening followed by a Q&A is the most direct route to audience engagement,” says Roco Film founder and CEO, Annie Roney. “With Gathr’s talent booking technology, we can help our screening hosts further ‘eventize’ their screenings, while putting more revenue into the pockets of the filmmakers and their experts.” The launch of Roco Voices comes at a time when the majority of documentary filmmakers are facing an uphill battle when it comes to production budgets and distribution deals. “Roco Voices is part of the disruption we need right now in the indie film world,” says Green, whose most recent doc, “32 Sounds” debuted at Sundance 2023. “It allows.