Expert PR for Film and TV Success

Sometimes, it begins with the festival circuit, then seeks distribution, segues to the film markets, and after securing distribution, launches to the audience. Films and television content released right onto the various platforms require expertise in reaching their audience and then expanding the base. Feature length docs and films (animation and live action) will likely find homes on streaming platforms and broadcast networks, while short films are often marketed for the purposes of helping filmmakers gain recognition within the entertainment industry, or as proof of concept for a feature length film, taking their careers to a new level.

 Deborah Gilels has run a successful PR/Media Consulting/Strategy company for the past 20 years, assisting writers, filmmakers, producers, and actors promote feature films and documentaries, by way of public relations, marketing, distribution and project development.

 All There Is starring Jason Priestley, Mena Suvari and Laurel Marsden; Hajji starring Ross Marquand; Pooling to Paradise, starring Taryn Manning and Jonathan Lipnicki; Violet is Blue: A Tale of Gibbons and Guardians; Echoes From the Attic, the LA Emmy winning documentary To Climb a Gold Mountain; Not Another Church Movie starring Jamie Foxx, Mickey Rourke, Vivica A Fox and Kevin Danielsl; Jane Spencer’s South of Hope Street starring Judd Nelson, Michael Madsen and William Baldwin; The Long Game starring Kathleen Turner, Jackie Earle Haley; and Sekai Abeni and the new documentary Blind Logic: The Ralph R. Teetor Story narrated by Mike Rowe and featuring Jeff Daniels voicing Ralph R. Teetor. 

 Among the films she has successfully launched are Keiko The Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy for Animal Planet, the award-winning documentary The War on Kids for IFC and the Doc Channel, and the Chazz Palminteri- Andie MacDowell family drama Mighty Fine for Lionsgate. Gilels ran FYC campaigns for the award-winning features Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms and Liz and the Blue Bird (Satellite Award nominee), the shorts Lacrimosa and Dragonfly; documentaries The Gilligan Manifesto, Women In Cloud, and Say His Name: Five Days for George Floyd.

In her beloved anime space, she was the lead publicist on Fathom Events release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, the award-winning A Silent Voice, Millennium Actress and Sound! Euphonium. She has also done publicity for anime series Lupin 3rd Part 4 on Adult Swim, Lupin the 3rd Part 5, Megalobox on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim, and theatrical release for the feature film Penguin Highway. Gilels has also led publicity for the DVD/VOD releases for several other anime titles and was a panelist at Project Anime in Los Angeles.

 Gilels has successfully promoted films in festivals such as Dances With Films, Tribeca, LA Femme International Film Festival, HollyShorts, Starz, Toronto International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, New Filmmakers (LA and NY), St. Louis Int’l, Beverly Hills International Film Festival, UN Film Festival, Heartland, Cannes, HollyShorts, and was the Publicist for the Oscar-Qualifying LA Shorts Fest in 2023 and is currently the festival publicist for SEE Fest and LA Femme International Film Festival. She has represented feature films and documentaries in markets such as AFM, Anime Expo, Berlin and MIP-TV. Along with being a Board Member of LA Femme International Film Festival; Gilels is a sponsor of HollyShorts.