Kasimir Burgess’ debut feature Fell will get a VOD launch across most of Australia following its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival this Friday.
In a bold new move, Sydney Film Festival and Adelaide Film Festival have partnered to stream Fell online over the same weekend it premieres in Official Competition at the State Theatre in Sydney.
“Sydney Film Festival is pleased to offer audiences across Australia the chance to have their own virtual festival premiere screening,” Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said today in a statement released to the media. “Fell will be available online from the Sydney Film Festival website on the day of the premiere, giving audiences beyond Sydney’s State Theatre access to the World Premiere of this stunning debut feature.”
Fell follows the plight of Thomas (Matt Nable), a father rendered grief stricken when his daughter is killed in a hit and run accident. After the driver (Daniel Henshall) serves five years in prison, Thomas changes his identity and moves close by with the intention of getting revenge.
“The World Premiere of Fell via the Internet is a game-changer in a multi-screen world. It’s democratic, it’s inclusive and it’s about time,” said the film’s producer, John Maynard.
“We should be making our films available to our customers when they want it and how they want it. It is obviously the way of the future and no one seems to be doing it enough in Australia. It’s a bold experiment for us.”
Maynard says there is a combination of factors that created an ideal opportunity to experiment with the online release.
“We have an event that’s worthwhile,” he tells IF. “We’re in competition, it’s a world premiere and we should take advantage of that and give this opportunity to people.
“I really can’t understand why cinemas – who use TV – are not using the internet in a more creative way and to go further than commercials.”
Fell will screen in high definition to any Internet-enabled device: Smart TV, digital TV, touchscreen tablet, PC, laptop, game console or smartphone. It will be available on streaming for 50 hours from 8pm Friday 13 June EST until 10pm Sunday 15 June AEST. The film will be available to everyone in New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Northern Territory.
In terms of why Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania miss out, Maynard is elusive, stating: “We’ve got different plans for those states and we will see what happens out of these two festivals.”
The Solid State has been brought on to assist with a targeted social media campaign.
“We’ve got a big social media campaign. We’re starting on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and really playing it hard and fast and dirty. And that’s what the internet can do,” Maynard says.
“We are treating it as an experiment and trying to crack the nut of audiences, which we are losing.
“We’re pricing it at $9.99 which I think is a very good price. The fact of the matter is cinema prices are far too high, there’s no doubt about that. For a $20 cinema ticket you could download four or five films online or buy two or three DVDs.”
See the trailer for Fell below, or for more information visit http://fellfilm.com
Sydney Film Festival runs for 12 days from Wednesday 4 June and screens over 190 films across nine venues including the magnificent State Theatre. Over 100 filmmaker guests attend the Festival to take part in talks, panels and Q&As.