Where did All the Foreign Films Go?

The decline of market share for foreign film dvds in the U.S. pre-dates the ongoing slump in overall dvd sales by at least eighteen months. What was once a thriving source of income for retailers that took the time to learn the foreign film business; Blockbuster, Borders, Tower, Musicland, etc. has been whittled down to almost nothing by the gradual reduction of dedicated shelf space and bankruptcies. While this was happening, the advertising and marketing costs necessary to raise audience awareness of non studio releases, especially foreign films, has soared, making it harder and harder to reach potential audience members in a cost effective manner.

The result of these trends has been an almost complete loss of visibility for foreign films in retail. Struggling retailers and renters had no interest in stocking relatively slow moving titles. Of course what they failed to perceive was that by ignoring the wishes of at least 20% of their customer base, they would probably lose those people all together, which is exactly what happened.

Into this void came the internet, and the relatively limitless "shelf space" available on a website. Companies like Netflix and Amazon eagerly lapped up disenchanted refugees from traditional retail. Choice became pretty much limitless. He main websites could offer at least one unit of just about everything. It was a brave new distribution model that I believe became a victim of its own success. Because while it is relatively easy to present a huge selection of dvd titles, it is no longer easy for consumers to discover them.

Neither Netflix, Amazon or any of the other established e-tailers have managed to recreate anything close to the ease of browsing that was available from traditional retail. Some of my fondest memories from college and shortly thereafter involve browsing in record stores for unknown musical gems. When video rental took off it was easy to again have the same browsing experience I enjoyed in college. I discovered great films I had barely, or never, heard of. Choice was broad but not endless and I was ok with it. Specialty retail replicated this experience to great affect during the boom times of dvd in the early years of this decade.

Now that those days are gone, perhaps for ever, it is almost impossible for a consumer to discover anything they aren’t at least already familiar with. Amazon, in spite of all its segmentation, is far too wieldy to support effective browsing. I think Netflix is even worse. Interesting, challenging films that used to literally be presented to consumers by the likes of Borders, Tower, etc. are left to fend for themselves in an incredibly cluttered environment. Needless to say, they aren’t doing well.

What consumers of foreign films and art house fare in general need are websites that facilitate some semblance of a browsing experience. Besides functioning technically, I think this means these sites can’t be too big. Choice should be broad, but limited. Otherwise films will get lost in the shuffle. Who hasn’t lost patience with Amazon while it cycles through its endless data base to provide information on a film we might be curious about? These new sites need to champion the type of film that is lost in the clutter of mainstream e-tail. I believe there is a legitimate niche here that needs to be filled. Who will seize this opportunity and run with it?

For a selection of unique foreign films visit - Foreign Films.