Rowland anticipates Being in Heaven will make a profit; dismisses “closed-minded” critics

Unlike most Australian filmmakers, director and self-development author/presenter Michael Rowland has the certainty that his privately-funded film has a clear market and will make money.

“One thing is for certain: we will make a profit. We had a strategy and a step-by-step plan to do that, and so far it has played out exactly in the way we planned,” he told Encore. “It is grossly irresponsible for any filmmaker not to know exactly how they intend to generate the income to put the film in profit.”

Although Rowland hopes that the limited run – the film opens today at Palace Cinemas in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, with a commitment of two sessions a day for the first week, and then three Sundays– will be successful, but knows they are unlikely to make a profit from it. That will come from DVD sales and perhaps “large public seminars to give the film more profile and sell it that way”.

The project will be primarily marketed online, reaching its specific audience. Rowland believes that it is an unusual scenario for a film because, unlike an ordinary script, the material in Being in Heaven has been tested in front of thousands of people at his seminars. However, although it is certain that there is a “gigantic market” for personal growth material seminar and non-fiction books, it is still unclear if they will come to the cinema.