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Robert Schwartzman and Cole Harper, the co-founders of Utopia, announced today out of the Sundance Film Festival the launch of their new tech platform, PowerFlix. The platform combines software with real-world distribution services to provide an end-to-end solution to allow filmmakers to customize and control their film’s release globally. Utopia is the distribution company behind films like “Red Rooms” and “Femme,” and it recently partnered with Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate to help release “The Last Showgirl” and “Megalopolis,” respectively.
The idea behind Power Flix is to give filmmakers the control to dictate their own release path — rather than waiting on acquisition offers from indie distributors, as IndieWire exclusively announces.
“Many amazing, high-quality films are being made every year that struggle to get their envisioned sale or distribution deal,” said Schwartzman in a statement. “We know how much time, energy and money goes into producing every film, so it’s concerning to see so many films not be able to find a home or reach their intended audience. We believe PowerFlix provides a massive edge to filmmakers in making that happen.”
More on PowerFlix, courtesy of the team behind it: “While specializing in VOD aggregation, including to platforms like iTunes and Amazon, PowerFlix also offers essential asset creation services for key art, trailers, and caption files. Additional premium services include the ability for filmmakers to request sales outreach to streamers, theatrical booking support, and consultations with distribution experts. With free and paid tiers, PowerFlix ensures filmmakers worldwide can access its innovative tools, making professional-grade distribution more accessible than ever.”
“PowerFlix is not a streaming site or an app, it is a service platform for filmmakers that don’t have distribution or that want full control of their release,” said Harper in another press statement. “In addition to Utopia, many of our distribution partners and experienced service vendors will be supporting independent filmmakers who use PowerFlix. This platform is essentially a superhighway for content and in getting that content out to the world.”
PowerFlix will provide free demonstration videos and in-depth tutorials for filmmakers, making it easy to see and understand how the platform works and how filmmakers can take advantage of its tools. PowerFlix is the only aggregation platform that offers a flexible pricing structure along with curated paid service options and add-ons. The paid service options start as low as $399, making it significantly more affordable than any other option.
“We believe all filmmakers will eventually use PowerFlix in some capacity,” Harper added. “The beauty of the tool is that you only have to upload your assets once, and as you want to deliver those assets to downstream platforms or partners, that will be available with the click of a button. The automated analytics reporting and royalty payout features are already better than existing methods used by traditional distributors and platforms, so this is a service that benefits everyone in the industry. Today’s launch is only the beginning, and we are excited to receive feedback from the film community and hope to continue building the ultimate solution to a long-overdue problem.”
Ahead of the launch, a limited number of filmmakers received private beta access in order to give feedback to the product team in advance of the launch.
“Filmmakers can’t soly rely on the independent film acquisitions market anymore,” Schwartzman added. “That’s not a knock on our business – that’s just the reality of how distributors have been forced to operate based on consumer and buyer behavior. As a filmmaker myself, we can’t continue to cross our fingers and hope for the big exit, which is becoming more and more unpredictable. It’s too often we see films debut out of highly competitive, highly regarded film festivals, with known cast, strong reviews and interesting storytellers involved, only to go unsold. Currently, there are just not enough meaningful acquisition opportunities presenting themselves, so filmmakers need to plan for the ‘we didn’t get the offer we wanted’ scenario even before they make their film. Thankfully, and as we’ve seen in other creative industries, it’s not unheard of to find success with a DIY release strategy. After all, independent films are usually created in a DIY environment, so why stop there? You just have to be willing to do the work and find the right tools to get it out there. We built PowerFlix to bring all the necessary pieces of a release together under one roof at the best rates available.”
Interested filmmakers can visit powerflix.com to create a free account and see how the platform can support their film.
English (US) ·