Video-on-demand calendar highlights online film choices

(2011 Filmmaker Magazine)

As digital distribution of films takes off, Filmmaker magazine has responded to the growing number of services offering videos on demand by launching a monthly listing detailing what films are available online and how, when and where to watch them.

Every month, Filmmaker magazine will post a calendar listing the films available on demand and their streaming sources. There will be a Pick of the Month and information about availability on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, with an archive back to November 2010.

For instance, Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop is currently posted on Amazon's Instant Video, according to the listing. Coming up online on March 23 is Cracks, the debut film from Jordan Scott (Ridley Scott's daughter), starring Eva Green as a glamorous force in a British boarding school, and Copie Conforme starring Juliette Binoche, Best Actress at Cannes for her performance in this romantic drama from Abbas Kiarostami, his first film made outside of Iran.

While the various forms of digital film delivery, from Netflix to Hulu, are still a work in progress, with new players coming on board everyday, it appears the DVD is on the way out as streaming and download services move in.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/vod/

Also, Amazon's free shipping service Amazon Prime is now providing a way to watch movies. The yearly $79 fee for shipping books will include film streaming of a catalog of somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 films and television shows.

Filmmaker has listed its choices for the top 25 films that Amazon Prime members can stream now as part of its Instant Video service, including Christopher Nolan's Following, Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Nobody Knows.

At this time Instant Video is only for customers in the US, but as Amazon makes its way into Europe, this is expected to change quickly.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2011/03/25-recommended-independent-films-to-watch-on-amazon-prime/

RC