Starting August 26, viewing independent films gets easier, as Sundance jumps on the “on demand” bandwagon. The Sundance Channel, which is owned by Rainbow Media, just announced the launch of “Sundance Selects,” a VOD service that will allow viewers to watch selected independent films with the touch of a button. With less people going to the movies this year, moviemakers have had to find alternate ways to get their film out there. Video on demand has become the latest trend in film distribution, with companies like IFC, Cinetic and Magnolia all releasing films this way.

Sundance Selects’ first film to be released via video on demand will be the Spike Lee film Passing Strange: The Movie, a filmed record of the eponymous Broadway hit. “It makes sense that Passing Strange: The Movie will launch Sundance Selects,” notes Lee, “as Stew and Heidi Rodewald, the original musical’s co-creators, developed the project at the Sundance Theater Lab and Director Lab.”

Sundance will subsequently release one premiere film per month with plans to increase their VOD output in the future. “The hallmark of the Sundance brand is creating an environment of discovery, for both artists and for audiences,” says Sundance founder Robert Redford. “Sundance nurtures new, independent voices in the creative realm, and is committed to bringing their work to larger audiences in new ways. Sundance Selects is a perfect complement to this mission and I am really energized about working with Sundance Channel and Rainbow Media on this new venture.” News just keeps getting better for independent moviemakers and fans, as more and more prestigious film organizations choose this method of distribution and the stigma of the cable release diminishes. As Rainbow Media president and CEO Joshua Sapan simply puts it, Sundance Selects is “an exciting opportunity to bring unprecedented exposure and opportunity for this genre of films and filmmakers.”

The rest of the Sundance Selects schedule is as follows:

September 9: Unmade Beds (dir. Alexis Dos Santos)
October 14: Mary and Max (dir. Adam Elliot
November 4: Kassim the Dream (dir. Kief Davidson)
December 16: Nick Nolte: No Exit (dir. Tom Thurman)
January 2010: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (dir. Chris Wiatt)

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