Documentary First

How do you know if you’ve found a Joe Amodei—or a predatory film distributor?That’s the question Christian Taylor explores in this episode of Documentary First: The Deep Dive, after her conversation with Joe Amodei—filmmaker, 40-year industry veteran, and owner of Virgil Films Entertainment (Supersize Me, Restrepo, Forks Over Knives). What struck her wasn’t just what Joe said about Cat Fest 2026—it was the warmth and trust in their conversation. In her experience, that kind of rapport between filmmaker and distributor is genuinely rare.So she did some digging. What she found was both infuriating and clarifying: there’s no Better Business Bureau for film distribution. No government agency protecting filmmakers. No licensing board. The system that exists is word of mouth, peer networks, and a few dedicated nonprofits trying to shine a light in the darkness.What You’ll Learn: - The 5 essential steps for vetting a film distributor before signing - Red flags that should make you walk away from any distribution dea