The National Film Board is looking to get in on the streaming service game by making a Netflix-like subscription service exclusively for documentary films. It would be available internationally on both computers and mobile devices, and would feature international documentary films as well as ones from the NFB’s catalogue. In order to make this happen though, they’re looking for corporate investors to provide capital for the project.
“It struck me there is room for an over-the-top service, a Netflix or a Hulu, for documentaries: The services out there are generalists, like the networks before specialty TV,” NFB chair Tom Perlmutter said in an interview with the Globe and Mail. Netflix has some documentaries, but mostly the ones that are commercial hits, like Super Size Me and Michael Moore’s various docs. It’s currently very difficult for documentary filmmakers to get funding or distribution, and most are stuck with with the festival circuit if they want to have their films seen. Despite that, there are obviously a lot of people who love documentary films, since festivals like Toronto’s Hot Docs continue to do well year after year.
The NFB is currently in talks with a few potential partners on the project, and they are hoping to be able to have firm deals and make an announcement on who these partners are in the fall.
[via The Globe and Mail]
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Megan Patterson is the Science and Technology Editor at feminist geekery site Paper Droids and currently a Toronto Standard intern. She also tweets more than is healthy or wise.
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