I just got this press release:
Los Angeles, CA (October 23, 2023) – Over 100
independent filmmakers are grappling with the insolvency of film
distributor Passion River. Earlier this year, the company announced
that it had lost the ability to meet its obligations and sold the majority of
its assets to BayView Entertainment. The filmmakers allege bad faith as
Passion River President Allen Chou deliberately withheld payments to producers
last year, all while continuing to onboard new films and license its existing
library just weeks before announcing the sale in January of 2023.
According to BayView Vice President of Acquisitions Peter Castro, BayView only
acquired the “assets but not the liabilities” of Passion River and the
filmmakers have no way of collecting money owed to them. Given the volume of
Passion River’s catalog, the filmmakers estimate the total amount withheld to
be in the hundreds of thousands.
“We played straight with Allen Chou. Allen Chou didn’t play straight with us,”
said producer John Wehrheim (The Edge of Paradise). “We lost a lot of
money doing business with him, but more than the money—what a waste of time!
Allen didn’t even have the courtesy to let me know he was pulling up stakes,
folding his tent, and disappearing over the horizon. I got the news over the
coconut wireless.”
While filmmakers report Passion River failed to meet their mandated reporting
requirements for years, the distributor began fully withholding account
statements and payments beginning in the Fall of 2022.
Yet throughout 2022, Passion River continued to sign new filmmakers, set release dates for these films as
late as December, and pitch films to platforms.
“Passion River is not the first, or last, film company to go out of business.
But the lack of transparency, failed reporting and missed payments simultaneous
to continued recoupment off filmmakers’ backs is egregiously unethical,” says
Emmy- and Peabody-winning and Oscar-nominated producer Amy Hobby (The Last
Laugh).
On January 31st, 2023 some, but not all, of the filmmakers received their first
notice of a transition from Josh Levin, former Head of Sales & Acquisitions
at Passion River and now Vice President of Sales at BayView. In a mass email, he informed the filmmakers that “...Passion
River lost the ability to meet its obligations and has sold the majority of its
assets to Bay View Entertainment, LLC. BayView is a venerable, much larger
distributor with an outstanding 20+ year reputation in film distribution.”
On March 14, 2023, select filmmakers were put in touch with Peter Castro, Vice
President of BayView. Mr. Castro informed the filmmakers that BayView had
acquired the “assets, but not the liabilities” of Passion River, and therefore
were not responsible for any outstanding payments owed by Passion River. They
asked filmmakers to sign new distribution contracts, with terms that did not
match previous Passion River agreements. Mr. Castro informed the majority of
the filmmakers that BayView was unable to retrieve any money that Passion River
owed them prior to Q4 2022, meaning that Passion River would retain the
entirety of the sales, retaining hundreds of thousands in revenue from hundreds
of films.
“Right now, our film is on cable TV, Paramount+, and other streamers
worldwide—and we still have yet to see over 70% of those sales owed to us,”
said director Alex Liu (A Sexplanation). “Being an independent filmmaker
is hard enough—yet entrusting our life's work to someone who didn't have the
decency to tell us about their intent to sell the business as we were spending
thousands on marketing out of our own pockets—it's a harrowing testament to the
sheer insensitivity this industry harbors towards the artists who make it all
possible.”
Other filmmakers say they were left completely in the dark—never having
been contacted by BayView or Passion River regarding the transition.
“If Allen Chou had notified us we would at least have had some idea of where
things were at—instead we were left to seek out and navigate the truth of this
situation on our own,” said producer Megan Dirksen (Selfless).
Communication from Passion River quickly dwindled to nonexistent. Chou ignored multiple
requests to audit Passion River’s financials due to missed payments, violating
his contracts with filmmakers.
“Communication dropped off as the years went on,” said filmmaker Jacob Bricca (Finding
Tatanka). “Finally, after repeated attempts to get a reply, I got a
statement in January 2023 that I was owed over $1400. I have yet to receive the
money, and their offices have gone dark. All voice mailboxes are full, emails
go unreturned, and posts to social media sites go unanswered. I sent a certified
letter to their New Jersey address alleging breach of contract and demanding
payment and have not received a reply. I have never seen a penny from Passion
River.”
For months, the only communication from Chou about the sale was a press release, in which he stated: “It’s exciting to watch
BayView persist in our goal of supporting talented filmmakers and releasing
impactful films for communities.” Passion River’s website remained active, along with their social media profiles. Films no longer signed with
Passion River also remained on the site. Mr. Chou remains the owner and
publisher of Video Librarian.
Without communication from Mr. Chou or the team at Passion River, most
filmmakers could not move their films to new distributors, as they required
written confirmation that Passion River no longer retained any rights. Numerous
emails and calls went unanswered.
Eventually, 33 filmmakers wrote a joint letter to Chou requesting confirmation
that the rights to their films had reverted back to them. It was only after
this group effort that Chou sent a letter confirming this—over 12 weeks after
the acquisition—keeping them from making any future sales.
“This has been a horrible experience where we as filmmakers have been
disrespected and disregarded by all involved,” said director Kim Laureen (Selfless).
A majority of the films in Passion River’s catalog are independent social issue
documentaries, whose low budget, self-financed productions were made with
passion to connect audiences with stories not covered in mainstream film and
television.
“The implosion of Passion River should be a warning sign to all independent
filmmakers of the fragile and broken state of our industry, and the imperative
to build new distribution models, with layers of transparency and
accountability to ensure this never happens to any filmmaker or project again,”
said filmmaker Lance Kramer (City of Trees).
“We face far too many obstacles as it is in this business. To then be so
blatantly taken advantage of by people who claim they ‘empower filmmakers’ and
hold teaching positions at major universities is an indictment of the predatory
nature of this industry. The one silver lining in this situation has been
getting to know passionate, talented filmmakers who have an orientation towards
justice and a knack for activism.” said director Pat Murphy (Psychedelia).
ADDITIONAL FILMMAKER QUOTES
Director Kim Laureen (Selfless): “I signed with Passion River in 2020. Since
day one I have had to chase reports and payments and have received neither
since mid-2022. I was never notified of Passion River closing or BayView taking
over until I reached out on the internet to find an article and then connected
with other filmmakers who were also in the dark. This has been a horrible
experience where we as filmmakers have been disrespected and disregarded by all
involved.”
Director Jacob Bricca (Finding Tatanka): “I first signed
with Passion River in early 2017 following the release of my feature
documentary Finding Tatanka. They were responsive at first,
informing me of sales they had made and giving me regular statements showing
that I was slowly paying off the charges associated with creating the DVD and
distributing the film. This communication dropped off as the years went on. I
finally contacted them again in mid 2022. These inquiries went unanswered.
Finally, after repeated attempts to get a reply, I got a statement in January
2023 that I was owed over $1400. I have yet to receive the money, and their
offices have gone dark. All voice mailboxes are full, emails go unreturned, and
posts to social media sites go unanswered. I sent a certified letter to their
New Jersey address alleging breach of contract and demanding payment and have
not received a reply. I have never seen a penny from Passion River.”
Director John Wehrheim (The Edge of Paradise): “We played
straight with Allen Chou. Allen Chou didn’t play straight with us. We
signed The Edge of Paradise with Passion River in 2019.
Payments were always late. We had to hound them. Eventually, Allen stopped
paying. We lost a lot of money doing business with him, but more than the
money—what a waste of time! Allen didn’t even have the courtesy to let me
know he was pulling up stakes, folding his tent, and disappearing over the
horizon. I got the news over the coconut wireless.”
Director Pat Murphy (Psychedelia): “I spent 10 years making
my documentary, and overcame all sorts of odds to do so. I trusted Passion
River with my baby. When a streaming platform approached me directly about
licensing my film, I brought Passion River into the conversation in a good
faith effort to honor our partnership. They returned the favor by withholding
my payment during this shady deal with Bay View. We face far too many obstacles
as it is in this business. To then be blatantly taken advantage of by people
who claim they ‘empower filmmakers’ and hold teaching positions at major
universities is an indictment of the predatory nature of this industry. The one
silver lining in this situation has been getting to know passionate, talented
filmmakers who have an orientation towards justice and a knack for activism.”
Producer Amy Hobby (The Last Laugh) and Co-Founder Distribution
Advocates:
This story points to ongoing systemic failures and inequities in distribution
of independent content. As a Co-Founder of Distribution Advocates, I was
excited to see filmmakers building community and fighting for their rights in
the face of this grossly unethical situation.
Producer Lance Kramer (City of Trees) and co-founder of Meridian
Hill Pictures:
“The implosion of Passion River should be a warning sign to all independent
filmmakers of the fragile and broken state of our industry, and the imperative
to build new distribution models, with layers of transparency and
accountability to ensure this never happens to any filmmaker or project again.”
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