Film distribution for Baltimore filmmakers. Mann Robinson Distribution licenses independent films and series to Tubi and other major platforms. 20% fee, quarterly pay, you keep ownership.
Mann Robinson Distribution works with filmmakers across Baltimore and Maryland, licensing finished independent films, television shows, sitcoms and reality series to major streaming platforms and networks, including Tubi. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with presence in Detroit and Los Angeles, and accepts submissions from Baltimore filmmakers online at mannrobinsondistribution.com/submit.
The agreement is a license of distribution rights. The filmmaker keeps ownership. Mann Robinson Distribution licenses distribution rights for a two year exclusive term, takes a fee of 20 percent of gross and pays quarterly.
Baltimore has a long narrative tradition on screen. John Waters has shot his films in the city he grew up in, among them Hairspray in 1988. Barry Levinson shot four features in Baltimore, Diner in 1982, Tin Men in 1987, Avalon in 1990 and Liberty Heights in 1999. David Simon built The Wire, which ran from 2002 to 2008, out of his years covering crime for The Baltimore Sun, then returned to the city for We Own This City, the HBO series about the Gun Trace Task Force.
Larger productions still shoot in the region. Lady in the Lake, adapted from Laura Lippman's novel for Apple TV+, filmed across the Baltimore region for about three and a half months, and the state reported that it created more than 1,100 jobs and used goods and services from more than 2,400 local businesses.
The festival calendar is full. The Maryland Film Festival is anchored at the SNF Parkway Theatre in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District and returns to a spring slot in 2026, running April 8 to 12 with more than 170 works. The New/Next Film Festival, presented by Baltimore Public Media, returns to The Charles Theatre, the oldest movie theatre in the city, October 1 to 4 in 2026. The Baltimore International Black Film Festival, founded in 2014 and first held at the Charles, programs African American and African diaspora work. The Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival, founded in 2012 by animator and Towson University professor Phil Davis, holds its 2026 screenings at Falvey Hall Theatre at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
The pipeline behind those screens is both institutional and independent. The JHU-MICA Film Centre in Station North, in the renovated historic Centre Theatre building, houses the Maryland Institute College of Art Filmmaking MFA and Film and Video BFA. Morgan State University runs a Screenwriting and Animation program, and Towson University has had a Department of Electronic Media and Film since 1982. Wide Angle Youth Media has provided media education to Baltimore youth since 2000, Crew Call is a Baltimore based learning community for below the line creatives, and Creative Alliance at The Patterson in Highlandtown adds a 200 seat flexible theater and a media lab.
On the practical side, the Baltimore Film Office sits within the Mayor's Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment and is the city's one stop shop for production. Permitting calls for a Project Registration Form, a Production Release or Agreement and a certificate of insurance naming the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, followed by application through the Right of Way Permits portal. At the state level, the Maryland Film Production Activity Tax Credit is refundable at up to 28 percent of total authorized direct costs, and up to 30 percent for a series, with a $250,000 minimum in state spend and a requirement that at least 50 percent of principal photography take place in Maryland. The Maryland Small Films credit lowers the threshold to $25,000 in state spend and caps the credit at $125,000 per project, with 10 percent of annual credits allocated to small films. The program is capped at $12 million per fiscal year and administered first come, first served.
One detail in that state application matters directly to the distribution question. Maryland asks productions to show acceptable evidence of national distribution, so a Baltimore filmmaker planning around the credit benefits from settling distribution early.
Mann Robinson Distribution is an independent film and television distribution company that licenses finished work to platforms and networks.
The terms are as follows.
Typically about 90 days from signing to go live.
That timeline lets a Baltimore filmmaker plan a submission around the local calendar. A film that finishes its run at the Maryland Film Festival in April and signs soon after would, on a typical 90 day timeline, go live in the summer. A New/Next premiere in early October points to a go live the following winter.
Payments are quarterly, and on ad supported platforms earnings are calculated as impressions multiplied by CPM, not per view. An impression is an ad served against your title, and CPM is the rate paid per thousand impressions. Two titles with similar audience numbers can earn differently depending on impressions served and the CPM in that period.
Every filmmaker gets a portal login showing impressions, CPM and earnings for each platform the film is on, plus statements and payment history, so a quarterly payment can be traced back to the numbers behind it.
Finish the film and the paperwork before you submit.
No. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with presence in Detroit and Los Angeles, and works with filmmakers in Baltimore. There is no Baltimore office. Submission and review are handled online, and the portal is available from anywhere.
No. The filmmaker keeps ownership, and Mann Robinson Distribution licenses the distribution rights for a two year exclusive term.
Yes. The company distributes films, television shows, sitcoms and reality series.
Mann Robinson Distribution takes 20 percent of gross as its distribution fee, and the remaining share goes to the filmmaker on the quarterly schedule.
Submit at mannrobinsondistribution.com/submit, or email distribution@mannrobinsonstudios.com.