Movies screened at Sundance Film Festival listed as TV episodes

@Michelle​ 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, all the titles were first screened at the Sundance Film Festival as standalone films except for the TV movie "The Killing Floor", which was first shown on television but was subsequently screened at the festival as a film in competition for awards.

Can "The Killing Floor" also be separated as a standalone title (TV movie) and as part of a series?

If it is already listed according to its original release on TV, then I don't think there is cause to give it a second listing because it was shown at festivals.

In some cases, I would also question the need to change listings where a festival release came first. For example, if a film played at festivals but not in regular theatrical release, and it was produced by/for the TV company, isn't it primarily made-for-TV? (and made for the series)

Hi @Peter_pbn​ -

If the screening is an episode premiere at a festival we would not list a standalone title page listing for the episode title.  One example that comes to mind is the Tribeca TV Festival premiere of the first episode of "Dickinson", in this instance we would only list the title on the site once as an episode on the series and we would not list an additional standalone title. 

However, if a title was screened at a festival on it's own merit as a standalone title, and is later re-released as an episode under a series banner, then we will allow two separate title page listings.  For example, "Blackfish" was a standalone film release, and was later released as "Blackfish: The Whale That Killed" under the "Storyville" series banner.

I hope this helps clarify!

Blackfish was released in theatres, not just in festivals.

The old title categorization guidelines also say that when considering initial release medium we should exclude festivals (see note 4).

Hi @Peter_pbn​ -

Thanks for pointing out this Help Article, from my own memory, this is an older guide with some outdated information, as we do now consider festival screenings to be valid for a first release premiere.  In the meantime, I have alerted the appropriate team to review this Help Article for any necessary updates.

@Michelle​ 

You moved the TV release dates without adjusting them, which makes them appear as regular theatrical releases. At least you need to mark the release dates as TV premieres.

e.g.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087554/releaseinfo

You also claimed that the series episode The Killing Floor was a "rebroadcast" of the movie, but according to the information provided it was the original release.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18257634/trivia/

@Peter_pbn​ 

Many sources stated that "The Killing Floor" is TV movie, so it should be listed as standalone title (TV Movie) and as a episode of "American Playhouse" series.

IMDb chose to list the titles as theatrical titles. I don't agree that it would make sense to list it as a TV movie as well as an episode when it refers to the same broadcast, but you can always submit a title correction if you want it to be considered.

I agree it does not make sense to give "The Killing Floor" a seperate page since it's first released on TV.

Bump.

Again.

Hi @plur62​ -

My sincere apologies for the delayed response.  Just to clarify prior to making the applicable corrections, these titles were screened as standalone films, is that correct  (ie. they weren't screened as episode premieres under the series banner)?