Indie Streaming Platform OVID.TV to Launch in March

ANNOUNCING A POWERHOUSE
NEW SVOD FILM STREAMING PLATFORM

OVID.TV

Planned launch in March, 2019

Jonathan Miller announced today an unprecedented collaborative effort between six of the most noteworthy independent film distributors in the U.S., each respected for the depth of their industry experience and the vitality of their collections. Together, they are supporting the launch of OVID.TV, an innovative new video-on-demand subscription service drawing from the catalogs of these leading content providers of quality arthouse, documentary, and social issue films.

The six founding content partners are Bullfrog Films, Distrib Films US, First Run Features, Grasshopper Film, Icarus Films, and KimStim (details is below), with more companies expected to join soon.

This partnership will result in a powerhouse SVOD platform designed to provide North American viewers with access to 1000s of not yet streamable titles including documentaries, independent films, and notable works of international cinema.

Jonathan Miller, of Icarus Films, who will act as director of OVID states, “The time for this kind of partnership is now, as the streaming giants focus on generating fast-turnaround new content, this coalition will offer new access to high-quality catalogs found nowhere else, featuring some of the most celebrated filmmakers and films in the cannon.”

When launched, OVID.tv will be the home of hundreds of documentary films not available on existing services. Its initial offerings will fall into two categories: powerful films addressing urgent the social issues of climate change, and economic justice, and in-depth selections of creative documentaries by Chantal Akerman, Michael Apted, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Patricio Guzman, Heddy Honigmann, Chris Marker, Ross McElwee, Bill Morrison, Raoul Peck, Jean Rouch, Wang Bing, and Travis Wilkerson, among many others.

In the summer of 2019, OVID will add hundreds of arthouse feature films, including those directed by Bi Gan, Pedro Costa, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Cheryl Dunye, Philippe Garrel, Nikita Mikhalkov, Eric Rohmer, Raul Ruiz, Dominga Sotomayor, Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet. Additional titles, most not available elsewhere, will be added monthly in curated collections that include both documentaries and narrative fiction.

OVID is an initiative of Docuseek, LLC, which operates Docuseek (www.docuseek2.com), an online SVOD streaming service for colleges and universities that was established in 2012, and currently makes available a library of over 1500 titles. John Hoskyns-Abrahall, director of Docuseek, remarks, “Docuseek now has six years’ experience developing and operating its platform—growing a customer base, building solid relationships with distributors—and we are profitable. We are strongly positioned, together with our content partners, to step forward and build on what we’ve accomplished so far.” 

THE SIX FOUNDING CONTENT PARTNERS ARE:

BULLFROG FILMS
The leading U.S. publisher of independently produced documentaries on environmental and related social justice issues, in business for more than 45 years, it currently distributes over 750 titles.
www.bullfrogfilms.com

DISTRIB FILMS US
An independent distributor of international feature films, Distrib Films US is known for its strong collection of French and Italian fiction feature films.
www.distribfilmsus.com

FIRST RUN FEATURES
Founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers to advance the distribution of independent film, First Run has been honored with a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art for its significant contributions.
www.firstrunfeatures.com

GRASSHOPPER FILM
A distribution company founded in 2015 by Ryan Krivoshey, dedicated to the release of independent, foreign, and documentary film.
www.grasshopperfilm.com

ICARUS FILMS
A leading distributor of documentary films in North America, with a collection exceeding 1000 titles. It recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.
www.icarusfilms.com

KIMSTIM
A distribution company dedicated to the release of exceptional independent, foreign, and documentary film.
www.kimstim.com