HF Productions, the company behind an established series of global, independent film festivals, has launched new streaming service FILMPIXS as of February 17. The platform primarily champions short films, as well as a selection of international documentary features with impactful narratives. Available worldwide with monthly or annual subscription, the FILMPIXS launch lineup includes some internationally acclaimed animated shorts.
Dcera (Daughter) | Dir. Daria Kascheeva | Czech Republic | 2019 | 14 min. 50 sec.
In a hospital room, the Daughter recalls a childhood moment, when as a little girl she tried to share her experience with an injured bird with her Father. A moment of misunderstanding and a lost embrace has stretched into many years, all the way to this hospital room, until the moment when a windowpane breaks under the impact of a little bird. A selection for the Annecy Int’l Animation Film Festival, Toronto Int’l Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, nominated for the Short Film (Animated) Oscar in 2020.
Available worldwide, exc. Czech Rep. & Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and France.
Daughter (official trailer) from Daria Kashcheeva on Vimeo.
Acid Rain | Dir. Tomek Popakul | Poland | 2019 | 26 min.
Somewhere in Eastern Europe. Young runs away from her depressing hometown. Her early enthusiasm about hitch-hiking fades when she finds herself in the city outskirts in the middle of the night. At the bridge, she meets a figure balancing unsafely on the guardrail. That’s how she meets Skinny – a kind of unstable weirdo. Skinny lives in a camper van, which he uses to run his not-so-legal job errands. Together with him, she sets out on a journey with no destination. As the ride continues, a particular affection grows between the two of them. Selected for Sundance Film Festival, Int’l Film Festival Rotterdam and Dokufest.
Available worldwide.
ACID RAIN trailer from Tomek Popakul on Vimeo.
The FILMPIXS line-up represents content from prestige film festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, Venice and Sundance, international short film festival award winners and, through the long-standing work of the platform’s curators HF Productions and their partnerships with global NGOs and the United Nations, FILMPIXS will spotlight engaging social impact stories and new voices in filmmaking.
The streaming platform is currently in its soft-launch phase and February’s official launch will be marked by a further 100+ films being made available to subscribers. Fresh from the likes of SXSW, Tribeca, Rotterdam and Sundance, new content will continue to be added to the service weekly. With a small number of exceptions, the majority of FILMPIXS content will be available to viewers worldwide.
HF Productions’ Henrik Friis and Benn Wiebe are the curators behind FILMPIXS and have established a global network of film festivals, creating educational value for audiences and significant exposure for independent filmmakers and short films.
Friis (CEO of HF Productions and FILMPIXS), sits on the jury panel for the United Nations’ SDGs In Action Film Festival, is a former TEDx speaker and director of Arctic Film Festival, Oslo Film Festival and Santorini Film Festival amongst others. He consulted as a producer on the 2020 SXSW- winning documentary feature, Beautiful Something Left Behind and co-executive produced Women of the Gulag, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award at the 91st Oscars.
Wiebe (Executive Producer of HF Productions and FILMPIXS) is a global social impact specialist based out of London; he co-executive produced Women of the Gulag, and procures partnerships including with the United Nations, organizing the SDGs in Action Film Festival and working with Sony Pictures for their Picture This Festival for the Planet. Wiebe also serves as a Board Advisor for Global Environment Media, Climate Crisis Hub, SIE Society and Yea! Impact.
“Having worked with film festivals and partners in 20+ countries to date, HF Productions’ mission is clear: to support filmmakers and to get their stories seen and heard. FILMPIXS is the continuation of this idea — to provide a platform for short films in particular, which so often get lost after their initial run on the film festival circuit. FILMPIXS will ensure that there is life after the festivals for these true gems. And of course, in the current climate, we’re also keenly aware of the potential to bring these important narratives to a much wider global audience, within their own homes,” commented the curators.
FILMPIXS will also be a platform for festivals showcasing virtual public screenings, as the global pandemic continues to threaten ‘physical’ events into 2021. FILMPIXS will debut its first virtual screenings in March, as online partner to the Dublin Independent Film Festival (an HF Productions- run festival).
FILMPIXS is available via filmpixs.com as well as an app for iOS, Android and other formats. Subscriptions are priced at $5.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly; a seven-day free trial is also available.
