IFC Films

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IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. It distributes independent films and documentaries.

Contents 1 Releases 2 Video on Demand (VOD) and DVD 2.1 IFC First Take 2.1.1 Date-and-date vs. release windowing 2.1.2 Initial releases 2.2 IFC Festival Direct 2.2.1 Initial releases 2.3 Apple iTunes 2.4 Exclusive deal with Blockbuster 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Releases

IFC Films first release was a drama in 1999, Spring Forward, directed by Tom Gilroy. Over a hundred releases have followed, including:

• Y Tu Mamá También (2001) - by Alfonso Cuaron.
• Casa de los Babys (2002) - by John Sayles.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) - by Joel Zwick.
• Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980, restored 2002) - by John Sayles.
• XX/XY (2002) - by Austin Chick.
• The Brother from Another Planet (1984, restored 2003) - by John Sayles.
• Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) - by Michael Moore.
• Land Of Plenty (2004) - by Wim Wenders.
• Nobody Knows (2004) - by Hirokazu Koreeda.
• Touching the Void (2004) - by Kevin Macdonald.
• Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) - by Miranda July.
• The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005) - by Rebecca Miller.
• Transamerica (2005) - by Duncan Tucker.
• Sherrybaby (2006) - by Laurie Collyer.
• I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2007) - by Jeff Garlin.
• Mister Lonely (2007) - by Harmony Korine.
• Americanese (2008) - by Eric Byler, adapted from a novel by Shawn Wong.
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008) - by Cristian Mungiu.
• Paranoid Park (2008) - by Gus Van Sant.

[edit] Video on Demand (VOD) and DVD

IFC has several ventures in video on demand (VOD), available through cable television pay-per-view, Apple iTunes, and Blockbuster's Movielink.

[edit] IFC First Take

IFC First Take, launched in 2006, combines a limited theatrical release with availability the same day by VOD. The films show in IFC's New York theater IFC Center, and well as other theaters that may participate. Landmark Theatres were the first outside theaters announced.^[1]

[edit] Date-and-date vs. release windowing

Traditionally, in the United States, theatrical movies are released with windows separating the theatrical run, then airline and paid hotel showings, then DVD release, then pay-per-view cable, then premium cable, also called pay TV HBO, etc.), then broadcast and basic cable.^[2][3][4][5] VOD services, starting with the first legal one, Movielink, generally gained the rights to the same window as pay-per-view. This put them after the DVD release. Making VOD release simultaneous with DVD is called day-and-date, or collapsing the window.

IFC First Take goes further, with day-and-date meaning simultaneous theatrical release and VOD, though DVD may come months later. For instance, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With came out on First Take in September 2007. The full retail DVD release is scheduled for April 15, 2008, though Blockbuster has an exclusive rental available as of March 2008.

In a March 2008 panel discussion, IFC Film's Arianna Bocco stated that all its films would be released through First Take.^[6]

[edit] Initial releases

Films initially distributed by IFC First Take included:

• CSA: The Confederate States of America (2004) - a mockumentary by Kevin Willmott.
• American Gun (2005) - by Aric Avelino.
• I Am a Sex Addict (2005) - by Caveh Zahedi.
• The Russian Dolls (2005) - by Cédric Klapisch.
• Sorry, Haters (2005) - by Jeff Stanzler.
• Three Times (2005) - by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

[edit] IFC Festival Direct

IFC Festival Direct, announced in 2008, is VOD distribution for films not slated for theatrical release in the United States.^[7] Non-theatrical films are known as straight-to-video, but the idea of Festival Direct and other new models is to remove the stigma of that term.

[edit] Initial releases

The first films scheduled for IFC Festival Direct were:

• Jar City (2006) - by Baltasar Kormákur, an adaption of a novel by Arnaldur Indriðason.
• It's a Free World... (2007) - by Ken Loach.
• Beautiful Ohio (2006) - by Chad Lowe.
• Puffball (2007) - by Nicolas Roeg .
• Good Time Max (2007) - by James Franco.

[edit] Apple iTunes

In 2006 IFC Films began distributing some films to Apple iTunes. The first batch were thirteen films with nominations in the Independent Spirit Awards.^[8]

[edit] Exclusive deal with Blockbuster

In March 2008, IFC Films and Blockbuster agreed to a distribution deal giving Blockbuster an exclusive 60-day VOD and DVD rental window, attempting to shut out its competitor Netflix. A similar deal in late 2006 between Blockbuster and Genius Products / The Weinstein Company had been partially thwarted when Netflix and other retailers were able to buy DVDs via wholesale "sell-through". Netflix then rented the DVDs under the legal first-sale doctine. Netflix often had titles available on the same day as Blockbuster. The new agreement with IFC Films had stricter terms, preventing any retail sale during the 60-day window, as well making a claim to exclusive "physical rental distribution rights" for three years. IFC Films receives in-store promotion in Blockbuster retail locations.^[9][10] Note: Genius Products / The Weinstein Company also distributes retail DVDs for IFC Films, but it is not clear whether the previous agreement covered those DVDs. Blockbuster's VOD service is its recently acquired Movielink.

Critics such as RogerEbert.com editor Jim Emerson feared the deal would limit the proper distribution of IFC Film's movies, since Blockbuster has in the past avoided uncut NC-17 films.^[11]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• IFC Films at the Internet Movie Database