Market Ready Online Session – Jeanie Finlay
Learn Something, Get Angry, Have a Good Time: The Radical, Creative Distribution ofYour Fat Friend
As part of Market Ready 2026, the International Screen Institute is pleased to welcome award-winning filmmaker Jeanie Finlay for a special online session open to anyone interested in filmmaking, audience engagement and film distribution.
In a rapidly changing film landscape, connecting films with audiences requires creativity, resilience and new ways of thinking about distribution. Drawing on the release of her acclaimed documentary Your Fat Friend, Jeanie Finlay will share how innovative distribution strategies helped the film reach and engage audiences around the world.
Combining practical insights, audience data and real-world experience, the session will explore creative approaches to audience building, community engagement and independent film distribution. Through a candid case study of Your Fat Friend, participants will gain valuable insights into developing meaningful connections between films and viewers.
The session will be hosted by Lena Vurma, Programme Director of Market Ready. An award-winning Swiss/Czech filmmaker and producer, Lena is the founder of Skye Films (Scotland) and Dragonfly Films (Germany) and works across production, acquisitions and exhibition, with extensive experience in sales, distribution and audience engagement.
About Jeanie Finlay
Jeanie Finlay is a British documentary filmmaker and artist known for intimate, award-winning work that resonates with audiences worldwide. Her films include Your Fat Friend (2023), Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (2019), Seahorse(2019), The Great Hip Hop Hoax (2013) and Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (2015). Her latest feature, All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, premiered at CPH 2026 and was nominated for the F Award.
Event Details
Date: 17 June 2026
Time: 16:30 CEST – 17:50 (Vienna time)
Location: Online via Zoom
Registration for the online session closes on 16 June 2026.
This session is open to all interested participants.
Applications for Market Ready 2026 have been extended until 22 June 2026.