Richard Abramowitz

The Bronx-born, Westchester-raised film distribution vet has a love of both music and movies, so it makes sense he's been turning his 20-plus-year indie company into a home for rock documentaries. His own history in the genre goes back to the release of Jonathan Demme's classic in the genre, the Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense." Having just put out Ron Howard's Beatles movie "Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years," Pearl Jam and Green Day docs, as well as the critically acclaimed "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil," Metallica's "Some Kind Of Monster" and Neil Young's "Greendale," Abramowitz has mastered a unique way of marketing one-night events city by city that has more to do with a traditional rock tour than the rolling out of a motion picture.

Along the way, Abramorama - which takes its name both from the '60s Cinerama three-camera widescreen process and the popular New York area kids' show, "Wonderama," hosted by Sonny Fox -- has also released such noted critical faves as Banksy's Oscar-nominated "Exit Through the Gift Shop," Laurie Anderson's "Heart Of A Dog," Asif Kapadia's "Senna," Charles Ferguson's environmental feature "Time To Choose," and the Showtime Brando curio, "Listen to Me Marlon." A former NYU film school student, Richard now teaches at his alma mater's Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film and Television, and the film conservatory at Purchase College.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in the Bronx, in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, and in 1966, moved to Ardsley, NY, in Westchester. I was an usher at the Fine Arts there, the first pure arthouse cinema in suburban New York. At 16, I was watching Lina Wertmuller and Eric Rohmer films. I learned to speak fluent Italian from Wertmuller, but the only words I remember wouldn't do me much good unless I was in prison.

I was always about music, movies and theatre, with music probably first. I realized early on how profound the impact of music can be from my older brother. I saw Bob Marley at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park. I had the $1.50 tickets, because I couldn't get the best $2.50 seats. I was too young to get into the Velvet Underground when they were around. I got into them through Lou Reed's "Rock 'n' Roll Animal" and "Berlin." I listened to those albums over and over and over. Lou Reed is probably the most formative artist in my life.

You distributed Laurie Anderson's "Heart Of A Dog," which is a real paean to her late husband.

Absolutely. I had done "Home Of The Brave," her other movie, too, in 1986. I appreciated the symmetry of being able to work on those two films 30 years apart. The opportunity to spend time with her was an incredible privilege.

You seem to have inadvertently uncovered the similarities between concert promotion and distributing a music documentary.

I never really thought about it in that context. One of the reasons I enjoy working on music films is the tribal nature of the audience, and I mean that in the positive sense of the world. We know who the audience is, and they're already inclined to be involved. All we have to do is let them know what, when and where. They're accessible in a very cost-effective way.

With "Pearl Jam Twenty," we were doing event cinema before it had a name, going market by market taking theaters for the night. The idea was to open for a traditional full week engagement in theaters in a handful of specific major markets, where there were the most Pearl Jam fans. The movie ended up being on 50 one-night engagements, and if the first screening looked 70% sold, we'd go "one plus one," adding another later showing the same evening. For Neil Young -- someone with whom we continue to have a working relationship -- we followed his tour in each city with screenings of "Greendale" the next week.

The Anvil documentary was the real-life "Spinal Tap," a movie that transcends its heavy metal narrative.

They were a Canadian band which had seen its day in the '80s and had fallen off the map. That movie played like fiction; the story-telling was exceptional. It's perhaps the favorite of all my films because lives were saved in the process. Those guys don't have to work catering or construction jobs any more. Most people, outside of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," aren't prepared to show that kind of naked emotion and honesty. Lips is just a genuinely open character. Sacha Gervais is a talented filmmaker; he was able to find a real narrative arc. You don't have to be a heavy metal fan to enjoy it. For me, it was about two artists who refused to give up their dream. Anyone can relate to that. No matter what you think of their art, they live to rock. It's undeniable. There was even a Holocaust story tucked in -- Rob's father was a survivor. It would've all been too much in fictional narrative, but it was true.

With "Searching for Sugar Man" and "Twenty Feet From Stardoms" winning Oscars, it would see this is the Golden Age for music documentaries.

We're not driven by that kind of success or acknowledgement. For us, there's a different standard. What can we do to further service the band? Part of our mandate is brand protection. We make sure we don't oversaturate theaters by structuring a more focused and targeted release so that you have full theaters. I want our movies to be a destination. I don't want our audience sitting in a 200-seat room with eight other people. The experience is diminished in that event, even if the film is good. It has to have the feel of community, where the tribe is gathering. It's not just another night at the movies; it's an event. And that shows our respect to the artists. We're intent on making it a worthwhile experience for everyone in that audience. Our concentration is on music and social impact films, because both have a tribal sensibility. And if you can appeal outside that tribe, then you'll be even more successful. These days, we can do most of that marketing through social media, which is extremely cost-effective.

How has the rise of streaming impacted your largely theatrical business?

It has provided us with opportunities. We are agnostic regarding windows. We believe there is an audience who will see a movie in a theatre because they want that experience, sitting with 200 other people grooving on the same thing. We are committed to that. We aren't afraid to get involved with movies that have short window spans because there are plenty of theaters eager to provide our kind of programming to their audiences. We don't have the same conflicts the larger studios have. By default, it reduces the field of potential competitors for these smaller films. We can make money with them, even if a company like Netflix doesn't seem to care about theatrical exposure for their movies. Amazon and Hulu, on the other hand, have both shown a commitment to theatrical releases, and now these music streaming services are starting to include visual content, too.

Bringing in Evan Saxon as a full-time employee alongside Karol Martesko-Fenster signifies a doubling down on the music documentary category.

We've worked together for a few years now, but we thought it was time to formalize the relationship. Evan has deep music business connections from the years he spent working with record labels and bands. Karol orchestrated a multi-platform release on a Mumford & Sons film recently and our Head Of Sales, Tom Hassell, distributed "Concert For George" some years back. On top of that, our Head of Business And Legal Affairs, Rob Marcus, was Corporate Counsel for SESAC for 20 years, so the entire crew had a great deal of experience in this world.

We've also developed a fund with a merchant bank, Sword Rowe, specifically dedicated to music-related films, getting involved at an earlier stage in the process. Whether it's using our resources to clear music, or technical stuff, getting involved in the development in terms of providing funds to get started. We're in conversation with a number of bands and managers to help put these productions together. We know a great deal about how the theatrical marketplace works and our relationships with some of the ancillary companies can help position these films from the start to perform optimally. We're also starting to explore doing more of these one-night live-streaming events that can be beamed into theaters nationwide.

What's coming up for Abramorama?

We're releasing "BANG: The Bert Berns Story" in April. You know his songs; you just don't know his name. It has everything ... great story, mob angle. It was made through the force of will of his children. There are just so many different points of entry.