About Dawson's
Dawson's is an independent film sales agency in London, founded by Joey Dawson. We represent a small number of independent features for international sale, test them with audiences before we take them to market, and build the demand that sets their price.
Why we started
I spent years watching films arrive at the market without a destination.
Not bad films. Some of them were excellent. But the question every buyer asks within sixty seconds — who is this for, and where does it go in my territory — had no answer. Not because the producers hadn't thought about it. Because the gap between what gets made and what the market can sell had never been closed, and by the time anyone tried, the film was locked.
The mismatch is structural. The people who know what the market needs aren't in the room when the creative decisions are made. The people making the creative decisions rarely have a clear picture of what a buyer in a specific territory is actually looking for. The film gets made, and then the sales question gets asked, and often the answer isn't there.
Dawson's was built to correct that. Not to change how films get made — the film is the film — but to ensure that by the time a film reaches a buyer, it has a market destination: a defined audience, evidence of demand, and the kind of buzz that turns a conversation about taste into a conversation about price.
A film with an audience and provable word of mouth is a different negotiation. That's what we're trying to produce, and everything we do — the testing, the marketing, the way we structure deals — is built around getting there.
Joey Dawson, Founder
Joey Dawson has worked across film and theatre for over a decade, as a producer, a sales agent and an analyst.
He founded Reid Productions in 2018 and produced independent features from development through delivery, covering script development, financing, production and distribution strategy. Before that he was Chief Executive of Wildcard Theatre Company from 2015 to 2021, running strategy, finances and fundraising alongside the company's Artistic Director.
He has worked in international sales at OneTwoThree Media, representing an independent feature slate to buyers across theatrical, television and streaming, and supporting negotiations on minimum guarantees, term, media and windows, holdbacks and delivery. He has worked at all major markets: EFM, Cannes Marché, TIFF, AFM.
In 2024 he founded Screen Vault, an IP analysis service combining retail sales data across 13 territories with audience signals from more than 20 platforms to assess which properties can carry a film.
He has been a Producer at the National Theatre, making digital content around its productions. He trained as an actor at the Oxford School of Drama and studied producing and film finance at the National Film and Television School.
How we work
We reply. Every submission gets an answer within 2 working days, including the no's, with a reason.
We say no clearly. A vague maybe costs a producer months. If we're not taking the film, you'll know quickly and you'll know why.
We show you everything. Every offer, including the ones we advise against. Every market report, including the quiet ones. Regular statements with expenses itemised against the cap.
We explain the terms. Minimum guarantees, holdbacks, sub-distribution, cross-collateralisation — we'll explain what each one does to your money before you sign, and recommend you take your own legal advice regardless.
We stay in. Delivery, collection and reporting are part of the job, not an afterthought once the deal is done.