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Fighting Piracy Falling to Filmmakers
An exciting new Aussie film is breaking convention and looking to controversial internet piracy networks to distribute their film...
Producers Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey could well be the innovators the film industry has been searching for during the rise of internet piracy. Their brainchild is the 135K Project which will work in conjunction with the new Australian film The Tunnel.
The idea is based on the 135,000 frames making up a 90 minute film. They hope by selling every frame for $1 directly to the internet audience, they can make their film budget and then allow free distribution online, as well as offering those buyers their share of the profits.
This innovative strategy is definitely generating buzz. "We had people log onto the website and buy frames while we were still in the testing phase and then it began to spread onto social media before we even officially launched the site," Julian Harvey says. "Four days later, we've sold over 4,100 frames in the US, UK, Canada and all over the world. The project is definitely resonating with people."
Enzo Tedeschi is no stranger to developing innovative ways to distribute his work. He previously produced the acclaimed feature documentary Food Matters. After a run at festivals, the documentary targeted the online niche market rather than aiming for a cinema release. It has since sold over 120,000 DVDs and download streams worldwide.
"We believe that if we stop fighting the peer to peer networks and find a way to work with them, they could become the biggest revolution in the way we connect with an audience," Tedeschi enthuses.
The Tunnel is a horror/thriller movie about an investigative journalist and her team delving deep below Sydney's St. James train station looking for a story. Award-winning short film director Carlo Ledesma will make his feature debut with the movie which uses a similar shooting style to Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. The film features Tropfest Best Actress winner Bel Deliá and Black Water's Andy Rodoreda.
Ledesma feels this new method of distribution will help get filmmakers back to their roots. "Enzo and Jules are trying to find a less complicated way for us all to do what we got into the industry to do in the first place - tell stories we like and get them out there so people can enjoy them," he says. "The key is engaging the audience from the very beginning, which I think we're doing."
The Tunnel is set for release in late 2010 via torrent websites.
For more info visit the film's website.