Sundance Film Festival

AND ANNOUNCES NEW DIGITAL DEALS FOR DOWNLOADABLE FILMS

Press Release

Website Announces Digital Rights to 20 Highly Acclaimed Foreign Films from Pyramide International

Partners with FilmAid International

FilmCatcher.com, which aims to bring attention to the freshest cinema while highlighting excellent and often under-appreciated films, debuts at the Filmcatcher Cyber Lounge in Park City, UT during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Hosting a newly designed home page, new community functionality and deeper editorial coverage, Filmcatcher.com becomes the destination website for discovering, viewing and discussing smart films with smart people. The site is devoted to all aspects of American independent and foreign language film and serves as a place where people can congregate and communicate about the best of past and present films. Composed of an experienced team of veteran indie film players, Filmcatcher.com has secured its first ever digital distribution deals with Pyramide International and Originial Thinkers and has partnered with FilmAid International. The curated site offers exclusive editorial coverage of art house films, on-camera interviews with cutting-edge filmmakers and actors, in-depth festival coverage, insightful reviews, unique celebrity picks and profiles of the independent film community.

Filmcatcher was created by veteran indie filmmakers, distributors and lifelong cinephiles from within the independent film community including, co-founders Alan Klingenstein (Producer, Trumbo), Alan Hruska and Petina Cole (Talking Pictures Company Co-Founders). Joining the organization in July was CEO Pete Taylor, former VP of Donnelley Marketing and CTO of the Princeton Review. Well-respected journalists Anthony Kaufman and Damon Smith oversee original editorial content. Completing their executive level are VP of Acquisitions and Online Media Cristina Garza, Acquisitions and Editorial Consultant Marie-Therese Guirgis (formerly of Wellspring), and Curator and Content Contributors Al Cattabiani (founder of Wellspring) and Andrew Herwitz (Film Sales Co. President).

“The FilmCatcher team comes straight from the independent film world and that is what makes us different,” said Alan Klingenstein, co-founder of FilmCatcher.com. “It was important to find the right editorial staff with the knowledge and scope of these films in order to bring the FilmCatcher community the very best original interviews and content. Having FilmAid as our charity sponsor allows us to span the globe while teaming with theaters like The Angelika help us ensure our audience is seeing fresh, award-winning cinema.”

PYRAMIDE ACQUISITION

FilmCatcher has acquired digital rights to twenty highly acclaimed foreign films from Pyramide International, this is the first digital-only deal for FilmCatcher. Directors included in this collection are Claire Denis (Nenette and Boni), Catherine Breillat (36 Fillette), Youssef Chahine (Silence On Tourne), Benoit Jacquot (La Fausse Suivante) and Eia Suleiman (Chronicle of a Disapperance). All titles in this collection have premiered at top tier film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and the New York Film Festival. This is the first digital distribution deal for the films in the Pyramide collection and will be the first time many of the titles will have distribution of any kind in the United States. FilmCatcher negotiated the deal with Yoann Ubermulhin, Head of International Sales for Pyramide International. www.pyramidefilms.com

ORIGINAL THINKERS

FilmCatcher also announces at Sundance an ongoing licensing deal with Original Thinkers for their unique series of short films, which celebrate unconventional people and their provocative ideas, and will be available for download on FilmCatcher.com. The series will launch with four shorts, including Academy Award nominated, Richard Linklater’s (“Before Sunset,” “Dazed and Confused,” and “School of Rock”) “Live from Shiva’s Dance Floor.” Shiva follows underground tour guide Speed Levitch as he explores the Wall Street area of NYC and offers his philosophical ideas for the landscape of post-9/11 New York. Shiva premiered at Sundance in 2003 and went on to win awards at Santa Cruz, Tribeca, and screened at numerous festivals around the world. “We are really excited to be in business with FilmCatcher.com,” said the series’ Executive Producer, David Holbrooke, whose latest documentary, “Hard As Nails” recently premiered on HBO. “When you look at all FilmCatcher is doing, it’s really an honor to have Original Thinker’s films included in the library FilmCatcher is building and the content it’s creating.” www.originalthinkers.com

FILMAID PARTNERSHIP

FilmCatcher is pleased to announce that FilmAid International is their primary charity partner. With every DVD purchase or download, 5% of the sale goes to support a worthy cause. FilmCatcher is committed to supporting FilmAid’s mission and to spreading the word about this exceptional organization.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with FilmCatcher.com and we support their mission of highlighting excellent and worthy independent cinema. It’s rare to find such a synergistic partnership as we’ve found with FilmCatcher,” said Steve Mendelsohn, Executive Director of FilmAid International. “We look forward to working closely with them to help further our efforts of bringing films that educate, entertain and inspire to refugees and other displaced people around the world.”

FilmCatcher has also begun building a network of marketing partners starting with the Angelika Film Center. The FilmCatcher Network is a group of high quality independent film art houses and venues that provide Filmcatcher.com members with an opportunity to attend public and private screenings, events and indie related activities that will help them find and see the best independent films as well as provide feedback and recommendations to other “FilmCatchers.” Individuals who subscribe to the FilmCatcher Network will be eligible for special benefits, discounts, free movie tickets and more as the network grows.

FilmCatcher’s collection of films encompass classic and contemporary, domestic and foreign, and fiction and non-fiction, art house titles for purchase on DVD and with the new deals, features a similar collection for download. FilmCatcher.com makes it easier than ever to explore, embrace and enjoy the best of American and foreign independent cinema. Exclusive interviews available on the site include: Stefan Ruzowitsky (The Counterfeiters), Ira Sachs (Forty Shades of Blue, Married Life), Christian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), Anton Corbijn (Control), Thomas McCarthy (The Visitor, The Station Agent), Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, Chuck and Buck), Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me), Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), Mitchell Lichenstein (Teeth), Anthony Hopkins, Famke Janssen, and Malachy McCourt. Additional interviews secured out of the Sundance Film Festival will include Tom Kalin (Savage Grace), Lance Hammer (Ballast), Rawson Marshall Thurber (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh), Sean Ellis (The Broken) and Ellan Kuras (Nerakhoon).

The site also boasts a “Celebrity and Curator Picks” section, which includes a library of actors, filmmakers, artists and industry veterans from within the film community. FilmCatcher members can browse this section to learn more about the official celebrity curators, see what films are their favorites and have 5% of their purchase donated directly to that celebrities charity. Celebrities who have contributed to the site include; Christina Ricci, John Cameron Mitchell, Minnie Driver, Richard Linklater, Nicole Holofcener, Selma Blair, Giovanni Ribisi, John Goodman and Mary-Louise Parker.

FILMAID INTERNATIONAL

FilmAid International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian aid organization that uses the power of film to educate, entertain and inspire refugees uprooted by war or violent conflict throughout the world. Through strategic use of film and video, FilmAid communicates life-saving information to refugee audiences on critical health concerns and social issues such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, conflict resolution, sexual and gender based violence, human rights and repatriation. By creating a cinematic event that crosses cultural, literacy and gender and age barriers, FilmAid is able to reach out to every member of the refugee community, resulting in messaging that has reached over 30,000 refugees in a single night. By conveying educational messages in an entertaining format, FilmAid also aims to engage the minds and imaginations of those who have suffered the effects of war and poverty, stimulating physical well-being and alleviating psychological trauma. www.FilmAid.org

FILMCATCHER.COM

Filmcatcher.com’s goal is to bring attention to a wider world of cinema and create a space for spirited film discussion and debate. The site intends to create a community devoted to exploring and supporting the evolving art of cinema. The network attracts users from cooperative programs like the Angelika Film Center and FilmAid International and those involved in the FilmCatcher community are able to respond about every film on the site as well as anything regarding independent film. From bringing a new film to the communities’ attention, discussing a director’s work, blogging, reviewing or commenting on a fellow FilmCatcher’s post, the community will be actively involved in the films they love, and can learn about others through their exchange with other members.