KOCHI: With cinema halls remaining closed, over-the-top (OTT) platforms have gained ground in the country. Making the most of this wave, Malayalam film industry is witnessing a slew of such platforms. Joining the brigade is Indyscreen, a new OTT platform created exclusively for independent films. The venture is the brainchild of The Movement of Independent Cinema (MIC), a group of independent filmmakers and film enthusiasts. The platform will be launched in the first week of September.
According to Santhosh Babusenan, president, MIC, the platform will cater only to indie movies which are often been neglected in theatres and on mainstream movie platforms. “It is always a struggle for indie moviemakers to get a platform to showcase their work. We wanted a solution to this at a time when web streaming platforms are turning a rage. That’s how we decided to create Indyscreen,” he said.
Besides indie movies, Indyscreen will also stream short films and documentaries from all over the world. “We are planning to come up with a panel which will select the movies that will be screened here. We hope to include other language ventures too. Since we have a lot of indie Malayalam ventures, one can expect a huge list in the Malayalam category,” said Santhosh.
According to him, it was in last December that the indie makers and lovers of Malayalam cinema got together to form MIC.
“We are not motivated by business interests. We just want to give viewers a great cinema experience. Also, we are quite clear about our target audience. The plan is to generate some money which can go towards the indie makers, who often struggle with financing, so that they can keep creating great movies,” said Santhosh. The capital for setting up the platform is being raised through contributions from lovers of independent movies. The MIC plans to levy Rs 100 as subscription charge. Adoor Gopalakrishnan inaugurated the first meeting of MIC held in last December while Shaji N Karun unveiled its logo.