| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Parent | AMC Networks |
| Website | http://www.ifcfilms.com/ |
IFC Films (Independent Film Channel) is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center.
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IFC Films first release was a drama in 1999, Spring Forward, directed by Tom Gilroy. Over a hundred releases have followed, including:
Future releases include:
IFC has several ventures in video on demand (VOD), available through cable television pay-per-view, Apple iTunes, and Blockbuster's Movielink.
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.[3]
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.[4][5][6][7] 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 occurred on April 15, 2008, though Blockbuster's "exclusive" rental was made available in March 2008.
In a March 2008 panel discussion, IFC Film's Arianna Bocco stated that all its films would be released through First Take.[8]
Films initially distributed by IFC First Take included:
IFC Festival Direct, announced in 2008, is VOD distribution for films not slated for theatrical release in the United States.[9] 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.
The first films scheduled for IFC Festival Direct were:
In 2006 IFC Films began distributing some films to Apple iTunes. The first batch were thirteen films with nominations in the Independent Spirit Awards.[10]
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, Genius Products and 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.[11][12] Genius Products 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.[13]
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