Netflix Adds 300 Indie Films to Streaming Catalog
The online movie rental and service Netflix has announced plans to supplement its catalog of videos for streaming with 300 titles released by independent film distributors. This move makes the Netflix streaming service even more attractive to customers who want more than just films released by major studios.
"[We] have found that a large number of members enjoy the innovative, artist-driven nature of independent film," Robert Kyncl, vice president of content acquisition for Netflix, said in a statement. "These new deals are intended to delight our members with a mass of great new indie films and to continue to provide filmmakers and distributors with a big, receptive audience for their work."
Movie streaming has become popular for Netflix subscribers because it doesn't require users to wait for a DVD in the mail or download a large file.
Instead, computers, game systems such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and dedicated devices like Roku stream the service directly from Netflix, downloading the video as the user watches, in the same way one might watch YouTube videos. The Netflix streaming catalog has always been smaller than the number of videos available through its DVD rental service.
These award-winning indie films come from a number of distributors, including The Criterion Collection, Gravitas Ventures, Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Oscilloscope Laboratories and Regent Releasing.
These films are either available right now or will become available over the course of the year. Netflix also plans to stream new releases as they become available from select distributors.
Some movies that will be available include Academy Award-winning "Departures," "Wendy and Lucy" starring Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams," French classics "A Nos Amours" and "Au Revoir Les Enfants," and foreign language Oscar nominee and Swedish hit "As It Is in Heaven."
