Amazon acquires independent Indian films from Cinestaan
Details
Rebecca Hawkes
| 31 January 2017

Following a deal with Cinestaan Film Company, Amazon Prime Video will be streaming independent Indian films Dev Bhoomi, A Death in the Gunj and international co-production The Hungry.

The move extends a long-term alliance with Cinestaan Film’s subsidiary C International Sales for Indian content on Amazon’s subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform.

Dev Bhoomi, directed by Goran Paskaljevic, was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2016, and the Hof International Film Festival. A Death in the Gunj, directed by Konkona Sen Sharma, was also selected for TIFF 2016 along with the Busan International Film Festival. The Hungry is an international co-production between Cinestaan Film Company and Film London.

“Our alliance with Cinestaan is to build our selection of features from India’s evolving independent filmmakers. This realistic style of filmmaking, from a new exciting breed of filmmakers, creates room for experimentation in content as well as form. Death in The Gunj, The Hungry and Dev Bhoomi are the first titles in our Indian offering in this exciting new genre - independent cinema,” said Nitesh Kripalani, director and country head, Amazon Prime Video India.

Devi Bhoomi tells the story of Rahul who returns to his old Himalayan village where he must face an isolated, prejudiced world in which women have no right to choose their own destiny. Death in the Gunj, set in 1979, depicts an uneventful family holiday that takes a dangerous turn when the guests play with spirits, while revenge thriller The Hungry is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus.

Rohit Khattar, chairman, Cinestaan Group, added: “In our quest to champion independent Indian films, we have been trying to figure out various ways to effectively distribute films which face the usual conundrum of high P&A and other costs. Amazon Prime Video has presented a much needed option and we are delighted that they have seen such merit in three of the titles that C International Sales represented”.