The opportunities are endless for filmmakers today. A number of OTTs worldwide keep looking for unique content to stream on their channel, giving young and independent filmmakers a platform to put their content on a global stage. With immense viewership, some of these OTTs are region and genre-specific too, giving content creators a chance to expand their territories by way of presenting their art to a new set of audience.
Here is a consolidated list of top video streaming OTTs around the world that acquire Indian content and provide a global stage to independent films par excellence.
1. MUBI: Those who have tried finding platforms to distribute their films already know this cinema paradise. A hot choice for filmmakers across the world, MUBI is a global platform with a hand-curated selection of the world's best films on-demand, providing its subscribers with a new film every day, and giving a chance to new as well as award-winning directors to showcase their work on a global level.
2. Spuul: Spuul is a leading OTT player providing movie and TV content to over 47 million registered users in the Middle East, the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand, South and South East Asia and India. What's special about this platform is that it specifically focuses on Indian content, giving a whole new amount of opportunities to Indian independent filmmakers.
3. Apple TV Plus: Apple TV+ offers an extensive library of Apple originals as well as a small library of licensed content that includes award-winning series, compelling dramas, groundbreaking documentaries, kids’ entertainment, comedies, and more.
4. Sling TV: Sling TV is an app-based TV service that offers both Live TV as well as on-demand video streaming online. Recently, it has collaborated with Voot to provide Indian content to Sling international customers who can watch reality shows, Voot original shows and films, and any other content offered by Voot just with their Sling subscription.
5. Kanopy: Kanopy is basically a digital library that partners with public libraries and universities to bring select users (members of either the affiliated libraries or universities) a free yet ad-free experience of thousands of films, documentaries, classic cinema, independent films and educational videos from all across the world that inspire, enrich and entertain.
6. Tubi: Tubi, an ad-supported American video streaming platform that houses over 20,000 movies and shows from across the world that also includes a dedicated collection of indie features.
7. Xumo: Available in the US, UK, France and several other regions, Xumo is a free video streaming service supported by ads, that is based on traditional television programming and offers 190 different channels to choose from. As a result the content offered on Xumo is more than diverse with films, shows, documentaries, news, music videos, and anything else that a traditional TV viewing offers.
8. Amazon Prime Video: With an extremely popular presence worldwide, Amazon Prime Video is one of the leading choices of filmmakers to distribute their content. It gives access to thousands of titles to all its Prime members across the globe that includes a mix of popular entertainers as well as classic and independent movies.
9. Netflix: Streaming in more than 30 languages and 190 countries, Netflix is one of the most popular online video streaming platforms. A pool of diverse content, panning across genres, Netflix as a platform actively supports independent as well as art cinema. Needless to mention, it is filmmakers’ most sought-after platform to get their content on.
10. IndiePix Unlimited: There are a lot of video streaming platforms across the globe that are solely dedicated to independent cinema. IndiePix, being one of them, is a popular choice among movie buffs and those with interest in arthouse cinema. The platform is always interested in top-quality independent films, both narrative and documentary, features and short films, of domestic or international origin, and hence has made it easy for filmmakers or distributors to reach out to them with their film catalogues.
11. The Criterion Channel: The Criterion Channel is a streaming service offered by the Criterion Collection, a company that restores and distributes classic films. The Criterion Channel offers select titles from across the world, independent as well as classic, and provides contemporary filmmakers with a platform to reach the right audience.
12. Sundance Now: An initiative by Sundance Institute, Sundance Now is much more than just a streaming service. On their mission to celebrate the power of storytelling, they showcase stories told by unique voices and offers a variety of prestige drama, international thrillers, bone-chilling true crime, and contemporary as well as independent cinema from across the globe.
13. Film Movement Plus: Film Movement Plus brings films to North American audiences from around the world, including prizewinners from Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Locarno, Sundance, SXSW and other major festivals. They feature the best of independent and world cinema, cult and arthouse classics, documentaries and short films for audiences that are looking for something other than popular entertainers.
14. Fandor: This one-of-a-kind streaming website aims to present exceptional, hand-picked films to a community of film lovers and makers connected by meaningful and entertaining cinematic experiences, and thus is home to independent films, classics, silent films, foreign films, documentaries and shorts.
15. Vudu: Primarily a movie rental service, Vudu also offers a list of 5000+ titles for free that includes popular as well as independent cinema from around the world.
16. IndieFlix: Another streaming service dedicated to independent cinema, IndieFlix showcases classic and contemporary features, shorts and documentaries from around the world that they claim to be thought-provoking and off-the-radar content. They work directly with young, up-and-coming to seasoned filmmakers to give them wide distribution where they are paid for every minute watched.
17. Vimeo on Demand: Vimeo's on demand online streaming service is a great place for independent filmmakers. Their one of a kind revenue model is made especially to support independent creators. Viewers can watch high-quality films, series, and videos, and support the people who make them with every purchase. By selling their videos online, creators can take home 90% of the revenue after transaction costs.
18. Curiosity Stream (Documentaries and nonfiction): CuriosityStream is the award-winning destination for documentary series and features covering every topic from space exploration to adventure to the secret life of pets. With thousands of titles, including exclusive originals, CuriosityStream delivers shows across the full spectrum of the non-fiction genre to demystify science, nature, history, technology, society, lifestyle and more.
19. DocsVille: Docs Ville is another highly regarded docs-only streaming service that houses content from across the globe including first-hand perspectives from Asia, Africa and South America along with much expected British and American content.
20. BFI Player: BFI Player is a video on-demand service from the British Film Institute, streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films from around the world. These are available for rent, for subscription or for free. Their main focus lays on British and European independent films but they also give due importance to international releases as well.
21. Docubay : With its base in Mumbai, India, DocuBay is a global membership video-on-demand platform designed specifically for streaming documentaries. Developed to cater to factual entertainment viewers, the platform offers mainstream, engaging, relevant and insightful content across genres from leading creators across the globe. Laying emphasis on curation and discovery, DocuBay offers a new documentary every day and is a great platform for documentary filmmakers to showcase their work.
22. Ovid Tv: OVID TV provides North American viewers with access to thousands of documentaries, independent films, and notable works of international cinema, largely unavailable on any other platform. Thus, it serves to be a great platform for filmmakers looking to show their content to an international audience.
23. Epix Now: Another on-demand streaming service that offers thousands of film and show titles to American audiences thus providing filmmakers with an opportunity to take their content overseas.
24. SBS World Movies: SBS World Movies is a dedicated 24-hour channel bringing a world of cinema to all Australians for free and in HD. It features movies from all corners of the globe, reflecting and celebrating the diversity of world cinema, with at least half of all titles in a language other than English.
25. Cinetree (Netherlands): Cinetree is an online platform that offers its members access to the best films and documentaries. Together with experts from the film world, they make a selection from the world cinema and choose films with important themes, social relevance, and stories that have the potential to move its audiences.
26. Sooner: Available in Netherlands and 5 other regions, Sooner aims to position itself as an alternative to Netflix, Prime and other big OTT players. Their content line-up includes award-winning works by renowned directors, new releases by young filmmakers, short films and documentaries from the art house and independent genre.
27. FilmBox Arthouse: FilmBox Arthouse is the first worldwide movie Channel featuring artistic and independent films from all over the globe. The channel features a variety of independent movies made in the recent years by filmmakers from all over the world. Most of the films presented in this category have never been screened on the mainstream movie channels. FilmBox Arthouse is constantly looking for new, fresh content by approaching various film festivals as well as independent movie producers and international distributors to offer their viewers a wide spectrum of contemporary arthouse films that include features, documentaries and shorts.
28. Filmo TV (France): Filmo Tv is a video on-demand service operational in France. All the films offered by FilmoTV are selected by an editorial team whose goal is to showcase films by directors from all over the world, known or less known, making quality cinema available to the cinema lovers of the region.
29. FilmDoo (UK): A UK-based video on demand platform, FilmDoo is an innovative new film discovery platform for people to discover, share and watch great independent and international films that few people might get to otherwise hear about. It hosts content from around the world and has easy search options allowing users to filter their search on the basis of genre, region, language, etc.
30. Discover.film: Dedicated to short films, this multi-award-winning streaming platform claims to be the world’s best destination for watching quality, short form entertainment. It features premium short movies, comedies, dramas & kids series across a wide variety of genres and languages from across the globe.
31. Viddsee: Another video entertainment platform dedicated to short form entertainment, Singapore based Viddsee aims to enable the process of discovery for this generation of audiences: for local and regional films to be consumed locally, and to create a gateway for great short films for a global audience. With this in mind, they have an easy process for film submission for those searching for a platform for their short films.
32. Hoopla: Hoopla is a groundbreaking digital service that partners with local libraries in delivering the best content from an enormous selection of digital video (movies and TV shows), music, audiobooks, Ebooks and comics to their patrons.
33. Shudder: For the superfans of horror, thriller and suspense, Shudder brings genre-specific content from all across the world, which makes it a premium streaming platform for horror lovers.
34. Crackle: Crackle is a free to use video entertainment network featuring full-length movies, TV shows, and original programming, available in the United States and territories. It licenses TV shows and movies from studios and content providers around the world and also has a Request Form that viewers can use to suggest other movies that the platform can offer in future.
35. Hulu: Owned and controlled by Waltz Disney, Hulu is an American subscription-based streaming platform that offers thousands of movies and shows at low costs and different subscription options.
36. IFlix: Currently available in 4 Asian countries, IFlix is a free and subscription-based video streaming platform that is aimed at bringing content from all over the world to its audience by partnering with over 150 studios and content distributors globally.
37. Fandango Now: Fandango Now is a subscription-free video on-demand platform that offers more movies and TV shows that one can count. It features over 90,000 titles which include new releases, classics, all time favourites and much more. The user only needs to pay for the movie or show they choose to watch, either by renting or purchasing.
38. Docurama: Docurama is a one-of-a-kind streaming service dedicated to bringing you acclaimed, cutting-edge documentary films, on-demand, on any device. Their hand-picked collection of movies offers an eclectic selection of academy-award winners & nominees, festival favourites and non-fiction TV shows, keeping you entertained whatever your mood. And with dozens of titles added each week, you’ll always find something new and compelling to watch.
39. BingeHorror: Binge Horror is a relatively new video streaming service that caters to a specific genre- Horror and Thrillers. Their library is updated weekly with exclusive and rare horror shows and movies, that are available at a low rate monthly subscription.
40. StreamPix: Streampix is an online video-on-demand service offered by Comcast. It offers a library of movies and TV shows that can be watched ad-free and unlimited across various screens.
Indian Film Institute will keep updating the international OTT guide to help filmmakers and content creators with a comprehensive resource of platforms that they can share their content on.
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