Running out of entertainment-while-in-quarantine options? We have some good news for you: IFC Films Unlimited, IFC’s subscription video on demand streaming channel, is offering a free 30-day trial, and distributor Music Box Films is launching its own streamer.
Unlimited includes titles from IFC Films and its two other distribution labels, genre banner IFC Midnight and the indie, doc, and world cinema-focused Sundance Selects. “Bringing together a broad collection of films that span across the labels and genres, IFC Films Unlimited is a general entertainment destination for specialty film fans,” its website declares.
For Women’s History Month, Unlimited is spotlighting women-driven films, such as Kristen Stewart-starrer “Personal Shopper,” dramatic thriller “Queen of Earth,” and fantasy-horror pic “Byzantium.”
IFC Films Unlimited is available via Prime Video and Apple TV. You can learn more about the channel on IFC’s website.
According to Variety, Music Box’s streamer, Music Box StreamLocal, is available as of today, March 27. It is described as “a new initiative for streaming current releases at home via a ticket purchase through art house theaters around the country” that will include “livestream discussions between filmmakers and art house patrons.”
Music Box Films hopes StreamLocal will help art house theaters stay connected with their patrons, and bring together film lovers and filmmakers — presumably during the pandemic and beyond. “This initiative will also provide a much-needed source of revenue for struggling theater operators whose business has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said.
The Little Theatre in Rochester, NY; Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre; Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts; and a/perture cinema in Winston-Salem, NC, are among the theaters collaborating with Music Box for StreamLocal’s launch.
Film Movement announced a similar endeavor last week. Via its streamer, Film Movement Plus, it’s working with art house theaters, and allowing patrons to rent new theatrical releases online.
Of course, several other industry events have shifted online due to the coronavirus. Dozens of fests have signed a pledge, making the path to online screenings easier. Programmers from the Tallin Black Nights festival, Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno teamed up to bring My Darling Quarantine Short Film Festival online, while BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival offered a digital rollout. Cannes will host a virtual market — as will CAA — despite its postponement.
