Robert Schwartzman and Cole Harper, the co-founders of Utopia, introduced immediately out of the Sundance Movie Pageant the launch of their new tech platform, PowerFlix. The platform combines software program with real-world distribution providers to offer an end-to-end answer to permit filmmakers to customise and management their movie’s launch globally. Utopia is the distribution firm behind movies like “Crimson Rooms” and “Femme,” and it lately partnered with Roadside Sights and Lionsgate to assist launch “The Final Showgirl” and “Megalopolis,” respectively.
The concept behind Energy Flix is to present filmmakers the management to dictate their very own launch path — fairly than ready on acquisition gives from indie distributors, as IndieWire completely broadcasts.
“Many wonderful, high-quality movies are being made yearly that battle to get their envisioned sale or distribution deal,” stated Schwartzman in a press release. “We all know how a lot time, power and cash goes into producing each movie, so it’s regarding to see so many movies not be capable to discover a house or attain their meant viewers. We imagine PowerFlix offers a large edge to filmmakers in making that occur.”
Extra on PowerFlix, courtesy of the group behind it: “Whereas specializing in VOD aggregation, together with to platforms like iTunes and Amazon, PowerFlix additionally gives important asset creation providers for key artwork, trailers, and caption recordsdata. Extra premium providers embody the power for filmmakers to request gross sales outreach to streamers, theatrical reserving help, and consultations with distribution specialists. With free and paid tiers, PowerFlix ensures filmmakers worldwide can entry its modern instruments, making professional-grade distribution extra accessible than ever.”
“PowerFlix shouldn’t be a streaming website or an app, it’s a service platform for filmmakers that don’t have distribution or that need full management of their launch,” stated Harper in one other press assertion. “Along with Utopia, lots of our distribution companions and skilled service distributors can be supporting impartial filmmakers who use PowerFlix. This platform is actually a superhighway for content material and in getting that content material out to the world.”
PowerFlix will present free demonstration movies and in-depth tutorials for filmmakers, making it simple to see and perceive how the platform works and the way filmmakers can benefit from its instruments. PowerFlix is the one aggregation platform that provides a versatile pricing construction together with curated paid service choices and add-ons. The paid service choices begin as little as $399, making it considerably extra inexpensive than some other possibility.
“We imagine all filmmakers will ultimately use PowerFlix in some capability,” Harper added. “The great thing about the software is that you simply solely should add your belongings as soon as, and as you wish to ship these belongings to downstream platforms or companions, that can be obtainable with the clicking of a button. The automated analytics reporting and royalty payout options are already higher than present strategies utilized by conventional distributors and platforms, so it is a service that advantages everybody within the business. At this time’s launch is barely the start, and we’re excited to obtain suggestions from the movie group and hope to proceed constructing the final word answer to a long-overdue downside.”
Forward of the launch, a restricted variety of filmmakers acquired non-public beta entry to be able to give suggestions to the product group upfront of the launch.
“Filmmakers can’t soly depend on the impartial movie acquisitions market anymore,” Schwartzman added. “That’s not a knock on our enterprise – that’s simply the fact of how distributors have been pressured to function primarily based on client and purchaser habits. As a filmmaker myself, we will’t proceed to cross our fingers and hope for the large exit, which is changing into increasingly unpredictable. It’s too usually we see movies debut out of extremely aggressive, extremely regarded movie festivals, with recognized solid, sturdy critiques and fascinating storytellers concerned, solely to go unsold. At present, there are simply not sufficient significant acquisition alternatives presenting themselves, so filmmakers have to plan for the ‘we didn’t get the provide we wished’ state of affairs even earlier than they make their movie. Fortunately, and as we’ve seen in different inventive industries, it’s not remarkable to search out success with a DIY launch technique. In any case, impartial movies are normally created in a DIY setting, so why cease there? You simply should be keen to do the work and discover the fitting instruments to get it on the market. We constructed PowerFlix to carry all the required items of a launch collectively underneath one roof at one of the best charges obtainable.”
filmmakers can go to powerflix.com to create a free account and see how the platform can help their movie.