Distributor and cinema-on-demand platform FanForce has launched streaming service FanForce TV, with a focus on community-led viewing and online discussion of films.
With cinemas around the world shuttered in response to coronavirus, the aim of the platform is to bring the shared theatrical experience to the living room with a pay-per-view model that includes live-streamed Q&As and live chat.
“Community has always been at the heart of what we do at FanForce with our cinema-on-demand releases, but with the arrival of the coronavirus we were forced to reschedule over 250 cinema screenings with Q&As across 37 countries. So, we moved them online instead and rallied the directors and panelists to livestream their scheduled Q&As and take questions from the audience via live chat,” says founder Danny Lachevre.
“We’re hoping it will bring together audiences in a more intimate way than traditional streaming and video-on-demand platforms, especially those who are really feeling the absence of the unique shared experience of going to the cinema to promote discussion and a sense of community.”
Included among the films available at launch are Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar winner Parasite, local documentaries such as Maya Newell’s In My Blood it Runs and Damon Gameau’s 2040, as well as Polish documentary Love and Mercy, from director Michal Kondrat, and US doco Fat Fiction.
Fat Fiction director Jennifer Isenhart said: “Our film Fat Fiction has close ties to a number of groups all aiming to raise awareness and discussion about healthier approaches to diet. FanForce TV enables us, as American filmmakers, to reach a global audience easily with scheduled premiere events around the world. Our events scheduled for the US, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand feature livestream Q&As with some of the world’s most respected experts in diet and health. This helps us to make a big impact.”
The platform’s features include Home Premieres, which allows organisations, schools and businesses to host their own screening and discussion after the film with their communities. Through what is called the Affiliate Program, customers will also get paid cash and receive free views for recommending a film.