EXCLUSIVE: Film Mode president Clay Epstein arrives on the Croisette with a slate led by UK martial arts ace Scott Adkins and Stranger Things star Grace Van Dien, feeling as positive about the business as he did when he founded the company ten years ago.
“My risk-aversity has contributed to my longevity,” says the Los Angeles native, who started out answering phones at The Kushner-Locke Company in 1999 before working in operations at First Look Media and graduating to senior sales roles at The Little Film Company and Arclight Films.
Epstein set up Film Mode in Cannes 2016 with the help of his wife and COO Mathilde Epstein, brining an inaugural slate to the French Riviera that included Catherine Keener drama Little Pink House and 2016 thriller Sugar Mountain when Jason Momoa was on the cusp of superstardom with Aquaman. “I went in pretty strong and buyers and producers were supportive.”
This year Epstein and a team that includes director of worldwide sales Charlotte Mott and worldwide sales and acquisitions coordinator Henry Finer will engage with buyers on a packed slate.
Titles include Deadlocked, Roel Reiné’s feature starring Adkins as a mercenary team leader who storms a jury site visit in search of a secret ledger and Lewis Tan as the bailiff who must save the day; Alex Turner’s crime thriller Beg The Devil with Brenton Thwaites, Van Dien, Emile Hirsch, and Ron Perlman; Avan Jogia’s psychosexual horror Replacer starring singer-songwriter Halsey and executive-produced by Lilly Wachowski; and Aaron Schoenke and Sean Schoenke’s superhero film Legend Of The White Dragon.
Epstein cut his teeth licensing a large part of the world to Sony on the 2014 SXSW Ethan Hawke sci-fi Predestination as SVP of sales and acquisitions at Arclight, and closing territories on films like 2009 Telluride period drama The Last Station with Helen Mirren as VP of worldwide sales and acquisitions for his mentor Robbie Little at The Little Film Company.
Film Mode accelerated growth in the early 2020s when Epstein represented the Screen Media catalogue, and pivoted in the no-travel pandemic years, sending buyers pre-recorded interviews from talent like Stage Mother stars Jacki Weaver and Lucy Liu produced by regular collaborator J. Todd Harris.
Flexibility is key. Besides a heavy load of pre-sales, Epstein will source equity funders, and invested in development costs to support the 2025 Adkins martial arts thriller Diablo. He recently closed a PVoD deal with Amazon in the UK on Tom Felton sci-fi Altered (debuting May 11) and retains rights to sell to subsequent buyers after the window.
The company works across all genres and will function as executive producer. “That can mean creative input, financial, or both,” says Epstein, who advises on script notes and cast value, and brings on lenders to plug a budget gap. “We like to stay involved so the end result is a film the marketplace is happy with.”
Despite the often rocky road of the independent business, Epstein remains upbeat and focused. “Distributors and consumers are sophisticated… When we all say the business it tough, it means the business is tough for selling films that are mediocre or not exactly what the marketplace wants.”
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