Johnny Otto is no stranger to the difficulties moviemakers face when trying to turn aspirations into reality.

Centigrade, a short movie made by actor Colin Cunningham and actor-producer Madison Graie, is the first-ever Canadian live-action short available internationally on iTunes. The movie, about a man trapped in a trailer that has been hijacked by a mysterious pickup truck, now has widespread exposure, qualification for the Academy Awards and a chance to make actual revenue. The success of this short, which was shot entirely on a handheld camera with an extremely low budget, is an inspiration to independent moviemakers everywhere and a lesson in 21st century distribution.

Make friends in the industry instead of trying to kill the competition.

With an eye toward promoting independent voices and visions, Indican Pictures distributes an eclectic mix of genre films, animations and documentaries among which are Troy Duffy's The Boondock Saints, a cult favorite for its vigilante flare, Monteith McCollum's Independent Spirit-awarded Hybrid and Rosario Roverto Jr.'s social comment comedy, A Wake in Providence.

What does a producer do after finding tremendous success with more than 100 independent films and having served as the head of a top indie studio for more than 10 years? If you're Larry Meistrich, founder of the now-defunct Shooting Gallery and producer of such Oscar-nominated films as Sling Blade and You Can Count on Me, you could invent a whole new kind of distribution company and attempt to change the face of indie film exhibition.

Always have a plan before you jump into a project.