By Vincent Serubbi

Independent Film Distribution’s Future

With the recent developments in the specialty “arthouse” studio divisions, the future of independent film distribution has been dealt both a blow – and a window of possibility. Picturehouse and Warner Independent have been merged into the New Line, which had already been cut back a few months before, Paramount Vantage is now being absorbed into their parent company. ThinkFILM, bought by a business buying and selling for parts pacman type last year are now reaping the benefits of corporate ownership by having their nasty habit of not paying filmmakers become part of a larger scandal that threatens their future.

With the sudden departure of such a large percentage of possible independent film distributors, what happens to the increasing number of films being produced? What about the harder to place experimental films, let alone the underground films that are increasingly underseen films?

Where is the audience who want to watch independent films going to find them?

Increasingly, on the internet – where online independent movies are starting to find larger audiences in search of alternatives to mainstream Hollywood films.

Portals for Independent Films Keep on Multiplying

And the portals for independent films keep on multiplying, from Netflix to itunes to more indie indiesites like indieflix…to super indie Second Window Films, where you can watch short films at three different qualities depending on how much time you feel like devoting to downloading films, from virtually instant viewing to letting a film download at super high quality. Filmmakers are starting to remove the middleman from the independent film distribution equation, setting up their own sites or affiliating with ones of their choosing to bring their films directly to the audience in search of online independent movies. It is on these sites that aficionados of genre films, experimental film, underground movies and other specific preferences can be satisfied with relative ease.

This was promised a decade ago in the early days of the internet boom, when the initial plans included advertising sites where films streamed in a tiny box amidst the banner ads. Fortunately, it took time for the technology to develop and by the time there was the ability to watch independent films online, many sites (see above) had the proper sensibility to have the films dominate instead of the advertising.

So, while independent film distributors come and go, ride the wave of hits and misses and further limit the scope of films available to the independent film audience, there is finally an alternative…and oh so many films to see.