IFC is bringing a selection of its features screening at this year's South by Southwest film festival to IFC On Demand starting tomorrow. This way, even if not attending, you can still "play along at home" to some extent. Earlier this year, the platform release of Che went day-and-date to On Demand, allowing millions more people the opportunity to see one of the best movies of last year, even if they don't live in the selected markets where it was available in theaters.
Most average American consumers are watching their movies at home, and even a DVD/Blu-ray release isn't infallible in the era of Amazon and Netflix. Either service has to deal with shortages of physical product that can hold up shipments. VOD eliminates that barrier completely.
We may come to a point in the near future where we have true "watch it now" options where your On Demand purchase contributes to a discount on your physical disc purchase. This is what will spur disc sales, not removing features from rental SKUs.
IFC is getting ahead of the curve by establishing themselves as a premier VOD brand, which is smart. There's a little of something for anyone in the five films you can start watching today for between 5 and 7 bucks.
The Films
Alexander the Last (VOD on Saturday, 3/14)
Jeff already reviewed this here. Even though i've been going to SXSW for six years now, this is the first Swanberg movie I will have seen. The screenings are always packed or up against something else, and I've never caught them.
The movie is about a young married couple dealing with the temptations offered by their artistic endeavors. Anyone who's done college or community theatre in their twenties should be able to relate.
Three Blind Mice (VOD Wednesday 3/18)
Three Australian Navy officers have one last night before they ship out to war. The way they spend their time is unexpected, in that the movie doesn't turn into a horror film or a 'let's all pledge to get laid" film. It's the type of narrative that America, by and large, is too coarse a place to produce anymore.
Zift (VOD available now)
It's in Bulgarian, black and white, and set in the 1960's. The main guy was wrongly jailed for murder prior to the communist takeover in '44, and now he's out. The film follows his first night out from the slammer. He inevitably gets into trouble. Zift is Bulgarian for the tar used to fill in pavement cracks, and slang for "shit."
Medicine for Melancholy (VOD available now)
This movie was at SXSW last year and is screening again. Director Barry Jenkins focuses on two African American twentysomethings the morning after a one-night stand (or is it?). They spend the day together, touching on issues of race, class, and the process of San Francisco getting whiter and whiter around them. The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac plays the guy.
Paper Covers Rock (VOD available now)
A young woman attempts suicide and has to fight for custody of her daughter. Another holdover from SXSW08, Jeannine Kaspar plays an authentic, troubled young mom better than other actors her age.
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We'll be following up with reviews on these films as the festival progresses.