Web venture aims to shake up film distribution

The makers of Scenes of A Sexual Nature, out in November, are not just hoping it’s a hit in the box office ? they are also testing a new online distribution model which they say could help independent and low-budget films.Ed Blum, the film’s director, and Suran Goonatilake, the investor behind Blum’s production firm Tinpanfilms, hope the system will reduce distributors’ control and give private investors more of a say in how movies are marketed and where revenues end up.Dubbed ‘The Really Honest Little Distribution Company’, their firm will handle the distribution process, while a collection agency will be used to allocate the film’s takings. If it proves a success, they plan to offer their service to other smaller productions.Social networking agency Rareface has also been recruited to manage an online PR and marketing campaign using the likes of Myspace and YouTube, through which it plans to learn best practices and replicate similar campaigns for other movie releases.The film’s makers are nothing if not ambitious. It attracted an A-list cast including Ewan McGregor and took six weeks to complete, despite its budget totalling less than £500,000. We spoke to them about their plans.Source: www.e-consultancy.com Thanks to Roberta for the link!