Amazon Video Direct Adds Berlin To Film Festival Stars Roster

Amazon Video Direct has added the Berlin Film Festival to its expanding Film Festival Stars program, which launched in 2017 at Sundance.

The distribution option offers filmmakers a digital distribution option powered by Amazon’s discovery tools, while also giving viewers a wider selection of festival fare that previously may have gone without a distributor. In 2017, Amazon says, more than 175 feature films took advantage of the FFS program at four film festivals, netting more than $9.5M in cash bonuses.

Creators of official selections at the 2018 Berlinale are eligible for a $50K upfront cash bonus, plus eligible localization bonuses, which Amazon says often go toward marketing. Once the film is available on Prime Video around the world, royalties are paid on a per-stream basis.

Film Festival Stars allows rights holders to craft customized distribution strategies, which can include both theatrical releases and streaming on Prime Video. As such, titles are not required to hit Amazon’s SVOD window until March 1, 2019, in a 24-month exclusive window. (Other platform availability during that span would be non-exclusive.)

All official selections from the Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Forum, Forum Expanded, Generation, Berlinale Competition, Berlinale Special, Panorama and Culinary Cinema sections are eligible. The original language must be French, German, Spanish, English, or Italian. Certain localization requirements must also be met, including dubbing in France, Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy.

The Berlin offer is valid through March 31. Amazon Video Direct is holding office hours through February 20 at the EFM at the Berlin Marriot Hotel to discuss the Film Festival Stars program.