INTERVIEW with Tetsuki Ijichi, founder and CEO of Rain Trail, by Aaron Mannino

When did your interest in film begin? What is it about film that compels you more than other artistic media?

T - I was first aware of the power of cinema when I took my high school girl classmate to see a Charlie Chaplin film. I noticed how the film stirred my emotion and soul through the silver screen, and I realized it happened to a mass audiences at the same time. I feel that movies have such a unique power to reach us emotionally.

 

How long have you been in the film industry and what kinds of work have you done?

T - Since I was involved in a few indie filmmaking projects as a producer in early 80’s in Japan, I’ve been in the industry roughly 38 years.  During that time I have worked as a film festival organizer, a 35 mm projectionist, a publicist, a film marketer & theatrical sales rep, a production manager and assistant director for industrial films, a film distributor, a film buyer and acquisitions specialist, a concert promoter and even an organizer & manager of a band.

 

What is the mission of Rain Trail Pictures and what inspired you to start it at this juncture? How does Rain Trail differ from your other endeavor, Tidepoint Pictures?

T - The most important mission for Rain Tree Pictures is to let good independent films be available to audiences & viewers worldwide. I have seen many deserving films get stuck as a result of the industry motivated ego of sales agents or a producers. Through Rain Trail Pictures I want to give these films a fighting chance and make them available in the new global marketplace and to wider audiences. Tidepoint Pictures acquires the film rights for distribution strictly in North America, however I would like Rain Trail to be a global standard in the global video-on demand era.

 

What is your role in Rain Trail Pictures, and what can a client expect from you as the try to share their film with a larger audience?

T - My role is still as an organizer, a middle person between filmmakers and media in the marketplace. Rain Trail is a kind of B2B company. I arrange and coordinate distribution deals between producers and marketplaces, such as VOD platforms, broadcasts and exhibitions at the producers’ request.  In this way I am like the Japanese tool “mago-no-te”, a back-scratcher that reaches wherever a person can’t reach.

 

What are the present challenges in film distribution and representation? Are there any advantages to this newly shaped market?

T - The challenge will be how to find films that need a “new lease on life” from the warehouse or the grave yard and identify the rights holder. It is also a challenge to compete with the traditional sales structure to sell a film in each territory.  That said, the new market tools are more flexible and provide a shortcut for the filmmakers to get representation and share their work. Rain Trail Pictures will be this kind of shortcut for market access and exposure.

 

What differentiates Rain Trail Pictures from other rep/consulting services?

T - Flexibility! I have knowledge and experience on both sides of this changing market, as well as experience on the production and distribution sides of the filmmaking process. I can release a film in the traditional way, but I am more importantly able to work with the new market tools to access larger audiences and find the right home for each film.