Distribution360

Overview

Distribution360 is a Canadian film distribution and international sales company based in Toronto, founded in 2013 by Louise Rosen and co-director Ira Levy. The company specializes in documentary and factual content, distributing films across theatrical, broadcast, and digital platforms in Canada and representing them for international sale worldwide. Distribution360 has established itself as one of the leading documentary-focused distribution companies in the Canadian market, with a strong presence at Hot Docs, TIFF, and international documentary markets including IDFA and Sheffield DocFest.

Canada's documentary landscape benefits from significant public support through the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, and provincial funding bodies, creating a robust production sector that generates a consistent supply of high-quality documentary content. Distribution360 serves this sector by providing both domestic Canadian distribution and international sales representation through a single company relationship.

Distribution Model

Distribution360 distributes theatrically in Canada through partnerships with arthouse and independent cinemas, with a particular focus on the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa markets. The company also handles broadcast licensing, placing films with CBC, TVO, Knowledge Network, and other Canadian public broadcasters.

Internationally, Distribution360 represents its catalog at IDFA, Hot Docs Market, Sheffield DocFest, MipDoc, and AFM, selling broadcast, theatrical, and digital rights to distributors and broadcasters in individual territories. The company's dual role as Canadian distributor and international sales agent allows filmmakers to manage both their domestic and international distribution through a single relationship.

Documentary Focus

Distribution360's exclusive focus on documentary and factual content gives it expertise that general-purpose distributors lack. The company understands the specific audience for documentary film -- how to reach advocacy communities, how to position a film for broadcast licensing alongside theatrical, and how the documentary festival circuit functions as a distribution and sales pipeline.

For Canadian documentary filmmakers, Distribution360 is one of the primary domestic distribution options alongside Mongrel Media, EyeSteelFilm, and the Hot Docs Distribution program. The company's international sales capability makes it particularly attractive for films with global subject matter and international audience potential.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Distribution360 acquires at Hot Docs, TIFF, and through outreach from the Canadian and international documentary production community. The company's acquisition focus is documentary features and series with strong subject matter, recognizable subjects or contributors, and potential for both theatrical and broadcast licensing.

The company's deal structure typically combines a Canadian theatrical distribution agreement with an international sales representation agreement in a single contract. This integrated structure simplifies the filmmaker's distribution management but requires careful negotiation of commission rates, minimum guarantees, and territory coverage to ensure the terms are equitable across both functions.

Pre-sales to Distribution360 for Canadian broadcast and theatrical rights are a recognized financing mechanism for Canadian documentary productions, and the company has established relationships with the funding bodies that accept distribution commitments as part of the financing plan.

See Also

For how Canadian documentary financing structures combine public funding with distribution pre-sales, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack. To model the revenue from a combination of Canadian theatrical and broadcast licensing alongside international territory sales, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator.