Kuzinski Nails CJ: Northeastern heavyweight kickboxing champion Eddie "Killer" Kuzinski (Michael Denney) delivers a brutal attack on CJ Keyes (Sarah Rachel Isenberg) in an exhibition-fight scene gone wild in the multi-award winning Shadow Glories; shot in on-location at the 1500-seat Armory Arena in Lewiston, Maine.

Okay, your dreams came true and you just completed your independent feature film - a labor of love you've toiled over for years. Now what?

In the case of Shadow Glories (Imagine, August 2001) there was never any doubt. Director/producer Ziad Hamzeh, writer/producer/actor Marc Sandler, and producer Bert Brown of Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Hamzeh Mystique Films knew from the beginning exactly what they wanted: domestic theatrical distribution.

Despite a $1 million budget and lack of big names in the cast, the filmmakers pulled out all the stops to make it play like a major studio movie. "We wanted SHADOW GLORIES to be as big and powerful as possible," Hamzeh states, "because we knew it would have to hold up to audience scrutiny. No apologies. No excuses. Every penny spent was put on the screen."

The trio completed post-production and immediately headed to Los Angeles to screen the film for a number of distributors and private guests. The experience proved invaluable. "We got some great feedback," says Sandler, "which enabled us to make some adjustments in the final cut." The screening also let them know they had a powerful film, a hybrid of action and passion capable of moving audiences.

As a result of the screening and subsequent re-edit, Hamzeh Mystique Films received multiple offers from international distributors and domestic video distributors. "We talked to about 50 distributors in all," says Brown. "We were flattered to get the offers. But our intention has always been to have some type of domestic theatrical release." Brown continues, "It's a bottom-line business and any film at that point is just another commodity. If a film doesn't have star power, most distributors will pass. For them, it's about minimizing risk."

Hamzeh, Brown, and Sandler sorted through the offers, but realized that without having some exposure in the domestic theatrical market SHADOW GLORIES' value in the ancillaries would be undermined. They discussed this issue with their executive producer, Paul F. Harron, Jr., and together decided they would mount their own domestic theatrical rollout. "We took a crash course in theatrical distribution," says Sandler. "We talked to everyone we could get to, learned as much as we possibly could, and set our own course."

Their distribution and marketing strategy is simple: bring to the team the most qualified people one can find, open in a market one can penetrate, and publicize the film with as much muscle as possible. To accomplish these goals HMF contracted with distribution veterans Richard Abramowitz, who handled distribution duties on Merchant and Ivory's A ROOM WITH A VIEW and John Sayles' MATEWAN, and Robert Baruq of Ignition Media, who is also president of film licensing company Unapix Films. Also brought into the mix was independent distributor Marvin Friedlander of Marvin Films, who handled distribution for indie films EVE'S BAYOU and LEFT BEHIND.

Defying conventional wisdom, HMF decided it would open on multiple screens in New England. "Typically an independent film will open in LA or New York and, depending upon its performance, be platformed out to the other markets," says Brown. "We decided we would open in a market that could provide us with an opportunity to create a grass-roots campaign and also where the media is more accessible and the buys more cost effective on a per screen basis." According to Hamzeh, if SHADOW GLORIES does credible business, HMF will open next in LA and New York.

Simon & Jenny: Ex-heavyweight kickboxer Simon Penn (Marc Sandler) and his wife Jenny (Linda Amendola) weigh the future as the world of Shadow Glories crumbles around them. Rick Kicks: Behind-the-scenes as Director/Producer Ziad H. Hamzeh works with Cinematographer Kurt Brabbee and Fight Coordinator Eric Allen to perfect the angle for the next fight scene; one of 12 shot during the total 24-day shoot of Shadow Glories.

HMF also decided that it would first seek out the large regional exhibition chains. "If we end up four-walling in the independent art houses, that's okay with us," explains Sandler. "But the advantages of being in the multiplexes are numerous. It assures us good demographic placement for one. It also allows us multiple exposures to the movie-going public. Movies playing in the multiplexes tend to cross-pollinate one another. We'd rather have four trailers running on multiple screens in a theatre complex than one running on a stand-alone screen. And we have the P&A budget to support that type of approach." HMF has already begun exhibitor screenings in the Boston area, with others scheduled for the New York-based chains.

A key component to their overall strategy has been to create some preliminary buzz about SHADOW GLORIES and get at least one advance review from a prestigious newspaper to serve as the cornerstone of their ad campaign. They caught a break recently when SHADOW GLORIES walked away with the Best of Festival/Best Feature Film award at both the Dances With Films Festival in LA and the Woods Hole Film Festival in Massachusetts. In conjunction with the DWF Festival, Kevin Thomas, international film critic for the Los Angeles Times, chose SHADOW GLORIES for a full LA Times review, calling it "powerful and distinctive...a mature, accomplished work...strong, stylish and uncompromising..."

Another crucial decision facing HMF is the timing of SHADOW GLORIES' release. "There are the typical movie-going seasons," observes Hamzeh. "We decided to avoid competing with the bigger studio films and have elected to open around the end of September or the beginning of October when there is less product being offered up by the majors." Adds Brown, "Although box office revenue is generally down during this period, it gives us more opportunity to call attention to SHADOW GLORIES.