If you’re an independent film lover, than big name online movie sites like Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Hulu Plus probably don’t do it for you. They’re full of blockbuster hits, mainstream movies and TV shows.
If, however, you’re into cult classics, film noir, international hits and more, Fandor, the “online service for indie film fans,” is for you.
Fandor has more than 2,000 films in its online catalog. By comparison, Amazon Video On Deman has only around 1,200 films, while Netflix only overlaps with 20% of Fandor’s catalog. The difference here, according to Fandor, is curation, with each film is chosen based on its artistic, historic and entertainment value.
Just going onto the site and looking at the selection of categories, you can immediately see that this isn’t going to be your standard, mainstream drivel. As the company notes in its release, “You know you’re not in Hollywood anymore when you click on ‘Seafaring & Swashbucklers’, ‘Anarchic Comedy’ or ‘Dysfunctional Families.'”
“Indie film fans simply don’t care about the same things as traditional movie-goers,” said Chris Kelly, a social technology evangelist who sits on Fandor’s board of directors. “Indie fans want to be enriched or moved by the film, which is a personal thing that’s hard to predict based on past viewing habits or a Q&A. They are highly suspect of being marketed to, invest heavily in discovering new things, but depend very much on personal recommendations for taste making. It’s a natural fit for social.”
The service has been in beta for several months but is launching to the public today. Users can sign up for a free month trial. From there, the service is $9.99 a month and is available on both the Web and on Boxee.
