Kiosk.net

Netflix has taken another step toward becoming the way to see independent films in the 21st century by partnering with Cinequest. Cinequest, which has become one of the world’s premier film festivals since its debut in 1990, has been breaking the mold about once a year since then.

Last year they launched Cinequest.org, an interactive web site devoted to independent films where users can download and watch Cinequest’s movies for free.

“The first thing some people might think is that we are crazy for providing select films for free download on Cinequest Online,” says Halfdan Hussey, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Cinequest. “That’s what the naysayers said when we launched Cinequest Online in February of 2004. We were the premiere festival to offer free downloads of feature films in DVD quality through secured Kontiki technology. The filmmakers who took a leap of faith with this venture found it to be an excellent marketing tool to further expose their wares and talents as filmmakers. Furthermore, as we predicted would happen, distribution deals occurred. Now Cinequest has its own DVD label to provide film connoisseurs with an outstanding collection of feature films that probably wouldn’t have made it through the typical Hollywood distribution system. These are the films people love, the films they can’t get enough of. These are films for people who want to break away from the typical. If you are looking for hot, raw talent with a delightful lack of celebrity, then check us out.”

The partnership will not only give America greater access to “true independent films,” but also give Americans another reason to choose Netflix over another niche DVD provider such as GreenCine.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2005 at 3:54 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.