By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
Specialized SVOD Streaming OVID.TV Launches in March
[PR] (New York, January 2019) Jonathan Miller, of Icarus Films, announced today an unprecedented collaborative effort between six of the most noteworthy independent film distributors in the U.S., each respected for the depth of their industry experience and the vitality of their collections. Together, they are supporting the launch of OVID.TV, an innovative new video-on-demand subscription service drawing from the catalogs of these leading content providers of quality arthouse, documentary, and social issue films.
The six founding content partners are Bullfrog Films, Distrib Films US, First Run Features, Grasshopper Film, Icarus Films and KimStim, with more companies expected to join.
This partnership will result in a powerhouse SVOD platform designed to provide North American viewers with access to thousands of documentaries, independent films, and notable works of international cinema that mostly are not available to stream.
“The time for this kind of partnership is now, as the streaming giants focus on generating fast-turnaround new content, this coalition will offer new access to high-quality catalogs found nowhere else, featuring some of the most celebrated filmmakers and films in the canon,” sas Jonathan Miller, who will act as director of OVID.
OVID.TV will feature hundreds of documentaries not available on existing services. Its initial offerings will fall into two categories: powerful films addressing the urgent social issues of climate change, and economic justice, and in-depth selections of creative documentaries by Chantal Akerman, Michael Apted, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Patricio Guzman, Heddy Honigmann, Chris Marker, Ross McElwee, Bill Morrison, Raoul Peck, Jean Rouch, Wang Bing, and Travis Wilkerson.
In the summer of 2019, OVID will add hundreds of arthouse features, including films directed by Bi Gan, Pedro Costa, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Cheryl Dunye, Philippe Garrel, Nikita Mikhalkov, Eric Rohmer, Raul Ruiz, Dominga Sotomayor, and Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet. Additional titles, most not available elsewhere, will be added monthly in curated collections that include both documentaries and narrative fiction.
OVID is an initiative of Docuseek, LLC, which operates Docuseek, an online SVOD streaming service for colleges and universities that was established in 2012, and currently makes available a library of over 1500 titles. John Hoskyns-Abrahall, director of Docuseek, says, “Docuseek now has six years of experience developing and operating its platform—growing a customer base, building solid relationships with distributors—and we are profitable. We are strongly positioned, together with our content partners, to step forward and build on what we’ve accomplished so far.”
BULLFROG FILMS
The leading U.S. publisher of independently produced documentaries on environmental and related social justice issues, in business for more than 45 years, it currently distributes over 750 titles. bullfrogfilms.com
DISTRIB FILMS US
An independent distributor of international feature films, Distrib Films US is known for its strong collection of French and Italian fiction feature films. distribfilmsus.com
FIRST RUN FEATURES
Founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers to advance the distribution of independent film, First Run has been honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art for its significant contributions. firstrunfeatures.com
GRASSHOPPER FILM
A distribution company founded in 2015 by Ryan Krivoshey, dedicated to the release of independent, foreign, and documentary film. grasshopperfilm.com
ICARUS FILMS
A leading distributor of documentary films in North America, with a collection exceeding 1000 titles. It recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary. icarusfilms.com
KIMSTIM
A distribution company dedicated to the release of exceptional independent, foreign, and documentary film. kimstim.com
THE FOUNDING EQUITY PARTNER IS DOCUSEEK:
Docuseek, LLC, operates Docuseek.com, an SVOD streaming platform for colleges and universities. Founded in 2012, it currently has a collection of over 1500 titles. Docuseek was established and is owned by Bullfrog Films and Icarus Films. docuseek.com