New VOD channels for Cinéma Excentris and First Weekend Club's Canada Screens - National Film Board of Canada now offers international documentaries and Canadian independent features at expanded NFB.ca Français
Xavier Dolan's Mommy, Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars featured
MONTREAL, April 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Starting today, the National Film Board of Canada's NFB.ca screening room becomes the VOD destination for the finest in Canadian and international independent feature films and point-of-view documentaries from around the world.
NFB.ca now features two new VOD channels: great indie Canadian cinema from First Weekend Club's new Canada Screens initiative, and the world's best POV docs and dramas from Cinéma Excentris, an online screening partner with the NFB since February 2014. By the end of this year, over 600 English and French VOD titles will also be added to NFB.ca―115 independent films joined by 50 new NFB titles this month alone―with prices starting as low $3.99. This offer will be available via mobile devices and connected TV within the next few weeks.
The NFB is also maintaining and growing its online offering of over 3,000 NFB titles available free of charge: a rich collection that includes the NFB's beloved, Oscar-winning animated shorts, new and classic documentaries including pioneering works of cinéma vérité, great films for kids, as well as more than 50 celebrated interactive productions from NFB digital trailblazers.
New independent, globally themed documentaries launching this month on the revamped NFB.ca include such acclaimed English-language titles as Wim Wender's Oscar-nominated Pina and Banksy's Exit through the Gift Shop. French-language doc fans can enjoy works like the Gémeaux Award-winning Les États-Désunis du Canada, and Deux de la vague, about French film greats Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut.
Independent Canadian fiction includes Xavier Dolan's Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner Mommy, Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-nominated Incendies, David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, Richard J. Lewis's Barney's Version, and more. NFB.ca will also serve as a premium destination for French-subtitled versions of acclaimed international releases like Richard Linklater's Jeunesse (Boyhood). These independent titles are joined this month by NFB documentary releases such as Alanis Obomsawin's Trick or Treaty? and Sundance festival award winner Julia Kwan's feature documentary debut, Everything Will Be.
By the end of 2015, NFB.ca will offer a total of almost 4,000 titles in both official languages. New features are also being added: an updated design for all the NFB.ca platforms, improved search functionality and a new Curators Program.
First launched in 2009, NFB.ca has hosted more than 30 million views since 2009―with another 30 million on partner platforms around the world. It's just one part of a sweeping digital transformation at the NFB, which is utilizing digital technologies to connect with Canadians and help position Canada as a leader in interactive media―with NFB productions winning many of the digital media world's highest honours, including 8 Webby Awards.
"Opening up NFB.ca to independent partners allows the NFB to put its world-renowned expertise in film digitization, digital curation and distribution to work for Canada's independent film sector, helping producers reach wider audiences and ensuring that quality Canadian and independent documentary cinema has a privileged place in the new-media landscape. With First Weekend Club and Cinéma Excentris, we're ready to offer film lovers an even greater online film experience, on the platforms of their choice."
Claude Joli-Coeur
Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson
"First Weekend Club has always been about building audiences for great Canadian films, and we are thrilled to partner with the NFB to make homegrown cinema more accessible to audiences across the country. There's an incredible amount of talent here and we are a richer culture when we are able to share our unique stories in such creative, artistic, and entertaining ways."
Anita Adams
Executive Director of First Weekend Club
"Through the innovative partnership that Excentris launched with the NFB in February 2014, we expanded our distribution reach from our traditional movie theatre screens on Montreal's St. Lawrence Boulevard to a video-on-demand service covering all of Canada—a first for a Canadian movie theatre. Since then, French-speaking film lovers throughout the country have enjoyed access to an exceptional offering of art films, selected by the programmers at Excentris and available from either cinemaexcentris.com or NFB.ca. We are delighted with the new technology initiatives that the NFB has announced today, which will provide Canadian film lovers with even more flexibility in viewing the titles of their choice online."
Hélène Blanchet
Executive Director of Excentris
Associated Links
cinemaexcentris.com/?lang=en
firstweekendclub.ca/site12/widgetkit/canada-screens
Stay Connected
Online screening room: NFB.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/nfb.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/thenfb
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the world's leading digital content hubs, creating groundbreaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content, installations and participatory experiences. NFB interactive productions and digital platforms have won 100 awards, including 8 Webbys. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
About Cinéma Excentris
Founded in 1967, Cinéma Parallèle, operator of Cinéma Excentris, is a non-profit organization that defends Quebec and Canada's independent cinema, encourages emerging talents, and showcases the work of great international auteurs. Cinéma Parallèle thanks for their support: the Government of Canada (the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada), the Government of Quebec (the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec, Mécénat Placements Culture), the City of Montreal, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, the Conseil des Arts de Montréal and its private partners: Provencher, Roy et associés architectes and Technicolor.
About First Weekend Club
First Weekend Club is the ticket to Canadian films. Since being founded in 2003, the non-profit organization has supported over 300 great films and countless talent. We give audiences a chance to be in-the-know about upcoming films, access to exclusive giveaways, video interviews, invitations to special member-only events, and much more! The best part? Membership is free at firstweekendclub.ca/join. Join our mission of building audiences for great Canadian films.
SOURCE National Film Board of Canada
Media Relations: Pat Dillon, NFB Publicist, Cell: 514-206-1750, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @PatDoftheNFB; Lily Robert, Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs, Tel.: 514-283-3838, Cell: 514-296-8261, E-mail: [email protected]
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