VOD DISTRIBUTION Amazon attracts TIFF Indies with 200k offer and 30c per hour streamed

NoFilmSchool report.

Amazon continues to expand its disruption of the traditional film market and industry practices, especially distribution (though it, like Netflix, is also expanding its production arm).

TIFF, an especially notable (Toronto International) film festival (very important for Warp over the years) has begun including TV, a strong sign of the convergence between the two industries (again, consider Warp Film's recent output - mostly TV!).

An event at TIFF sponsored by Amazon.

The 2017 TIFF has also seen Amazon build on its 2016 Sundance offer of $100k plus royalties for distribution rights, now a $200k package - a hugely tempting proposition for young or Indie filmmakers to instantly gain large scale international distribution.

Would you accept a $200,000 bonus to upload your official festival selection to Amazon Video Direct? That offer is now on the table for directors with films playing at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. 

In May 2016, Amazon launched the Film Festival Stars program, which aimed to lure festival fare to its streaming platform by offering $100,000 upfront and royalties to rights holders. At Sundance this year, we spoke with the head of Amazon Video Direct, Eric Orme, who told us that he hoped the program would help filmmakers capitalize on self-distribution. "We recognized that a lot of films at Sundance don't get full-service distribution deals," Orme said. "We want to provide a new distribution pathway for those films. Expanding distribution options means more great films have the opportunity to reach wider audiences."

Is this having any impact? Quite simply - yes:

The Film Festival Stars deal requires filmmakers to make Amazon Video Direct the exclusive SVOD home for this film, although directors can wait up to 18 months to upload their movies to the platform. In the interim, their films can play at other festivals and theaters. In addition to the initial bonus, filmmakers will receive a royalty rate of $0.30 per every hour their film is streamed on the platform—more than double the rate Amazon offers other Video Direct users.So far, the program has proven a hefty incentive. At SXSW 2017 alone, Film Festival Stars signed deals for 40 movies. 

See NoFilmSchool article.

Variety report.

Another report.

CONVERGENCE Toronto (TIFF) to add TV

See previous post for more, including analysis of how Kickstarter fits with this topic. There are further posts on convergence, including this detailed guide to convergence + digitisation.

“Film and television have been converging for years, with many filmmakers gravitating to television to experiment with that medium,” said Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the festival. “Primetime will highlight these developments internationally, spotlighting the growing intersection between these two moving-image cultures and industries.”

Benjamin Lee (2015, Guardian): Toronto film festival announces new focus on television.

As well as previous posts specifically on this topic, there is much more on convergence to be found on this blog!

The blurring of the line between TV and film has been increasingly evident: Shane Meadows following up This is England with two (soon to be three) C4 series, and Fargo one of many films adapted for TV series (Conal was yesterday recommending Daredevil, a fairly atrocious movie transformed into a critically acclaimed series).