A coincidence it may be, but the start of the AFM coincides with a major boost for the international independent film community in the US with the launch tonight at 9PM (EST) of the Sundance Channel, a new cable network showcasing what the owners call the “most current and extensive line-up of new independent cinema on television”.
It will premiere tonight on the Showtime Network, a unit of Blockbuster Entertainment, to an estimated four million homes in America.
A joint venture between Robert Redford and Showtime Networks, the new film channel will broadcast a round-the-clock “premium movie service” which it is hoped will bring the spirit of the Sundance Film Festival to television viewers. The channel will feature not only top-quality independent films but also documentaries, foreign and classic art films, and even shorts and animation. Foreign independent features, according to Redford, are expected to comprise up to 15 percent of the channel's line-up.
“The Sundance Channel is an extension of our original commitment to support the filmmaker, to support the kind of new ideas and diversity embodied in independent film,” said Redford.
The Sundance Channel will offer exclusive premium television premiers from some of the markets leading independent distributors including Castle Hill, Castle Rock, MGM-UA, October, PolyGram, Sony Pictures and TriStar.
The new channel is also committed as one of the major sponsors of the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival, alongside Kodak, the Los Angeles Time, and it's partner, Blockbuster Entertainment.
Christopher Pickard
