Alwaysi Sells Six Films to the Sundance Channel

Alwaysi (www.alwaysi.com), an online community for independent film, sold six short films to the Sundance Channel for broadcast beginning in February 2001. Financial details of the sale were not disclosed. The sale is the first success of Alwaysi's recently created sales division, which acts as a producer's representative for selected independent artists showcased on Alwaysi.

The Sundance channel is not a newcomer to online content having previously purchased shorts from AtomFilms.

"This deal is the beginning for Alwaysi's recently formed offline sales division which is representing full-length features, short films and documentaries.'' said Randy Greenberg, vice president of sales and marketing for Alwaysi.

The offline sales division is taking on a limited number of filmmakers at this early stage, according to a spokesperson at Alwaysi. Currently the company is offering a non-exclusive representation agreement that allows the filmmakers to explore other distribution options until Alwayi brings a deal to the table.

While looking to bring in revenue in these challenging days before broadband really takes off, Alwaysi is not waiting passively for the future, announcing a partnership with ICTV to deliver its broadband content through ICTV's television platform. Through this partnership, Alwaysi content will be promoted by ICTV to cable operators and will give Alwaysi the opportunity to test film content and site navigation in a television-based broadband environment.