Oscar-winning producer Juan de Dios Larraín urges Sundance and other festivals to add distribution pathways

Oscar-winning Chilean producer Juan de Dios Larraín said film festivals such as Sundance should move beyond screening and awards-oriented premieres and take a more active role in helping featured movies reach audiences.

Larraín, whose credits include producing Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica), made the comments Monday during a discussion at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s KVIFF Industry Days strand in the Czech spa town. The session was titled “The Future of Film Distribution Is Already Here: Same Problem – Opposite Directions,” according to the report.

The producer is known for building direct-to-audience distribution efforts outside the traditional sales cycle. Along with his brother and longtime collaborator Pablo Larraín, Larraín has launched Pijama, a platform described by the reporting as a direct-to-audience service for independent, undistributed films.

In the conversation, Larraín framed his remarks around the independent sector’s distribution bottleneck, saying that festival organizers are increasingly worried because films playing at Sundance appear to have fewer distribution opportunities afterward. He connected that pressure to a broader need for additional release pathways for the projects festivals spotlight.

Larraín pointed to Karlovy Vary’s streaming initiative as an example of what he believes can work in practice. He referenced, the festival’s streaming platform, and argued that the existence of such channels underscores a case for festivals to rethink their role in the marketplace rather than assuming attention alone will translate into audience access.

The KVIFF Industry Days panel also included Steffen Kottkamp of Directors Collection, a venture described in the report as set to launch with a focus on AVOD and FAST channel distribution strategies. The discussion was moderated by Diana Lodderhose, international features editor at Deadline Hollywood.

Beyond the comments themselves, the meeting highlighted a continuing shift in the film business as traditional festival-to-theatrical or festival-to-sales-agent paths face stronger competition from streaming platforms and direct audience models. In that environment, festival organizers are being pressed to show not only that a film is worth showcasing, but also that there is an actionable route to viewers once the festival curtain closes.

For now, Larraín’s remarks add to ongoing industry debate about how festivals should measure success, whether through screenings and critical reception alone or through integration with distribution strategies that can make titles easier to find after their premiere window.