Indie Films in Brazil Get New Online Channel

By Sarah Brown, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new online channel of film distribution has opened many doors for independent filmmakers in Brazil. Online platform Canal O Cubo founded by filmmakers Fariano Cafure and Thiago Fraga, allows users to upload their audiovisual content on the internet, raising the profile of their art.

Cafure and Fraga are from Instituto Kreatori and have been developing the idea of an online means of audiovisual content distribution for the last five years. It was just one year ago that they launched the platform Canal O Cubo, giving filmmakers a new option to find exposure for their work.

The creators of O Cubo aim to make film distribution as easy as possible. “Independent films often have a low budget, or even none at all,” Cafure told The Rio Times. “O Cubo allows online distribution for free.” They ask for a basic criteria: the film must be licensed under one of the six licenses available from Creative Commons and that the filmmaker has the rights of the movie. The film does not need to be brand new.

Cafure explains that most independent filmmakers never get to the big screen, estimating around ninety percent are unable to get the audience they want. Yet this is changing thanks to the high-bandwidth reach of the internet, giving more exposure and elevation for film profiles. “Internet is the cheapest and fastest way to distribute films,” says Cafure, pinpointing the core success of O Cubo for movie distribution, especially for the indie filmmakers.

O Cubo currently broadcasts over fifty films that are available to watch online for free and without needing to subscribe or give away personal details. Short and longer length films can be uploaded and watched and, as Cafure pointed out, it is a useful platform to broadcast pilots of potential series.

There is a choice of five categories of films to watch including documentary, fiction, entertainment, animation, and video art and photography. “Eu te amo Renato” (“I love you Renato”), by founder of O Cubo, Fabiano Cafure, still remains the most popular film on the site. It was the first fiction film released on there and a year later it has hit 1.5 million views, highlighting the wide reach to a much larger audience the internet can bring.

Cafure will release another four films soon made in the last month. “We want to make it more common for people in Brazil to pick up a camera and make a film,” Cafure enthuses. “[…]to make people believe they can do it without a lot of equipment.”

It is this passion that is translated into their one month production course, “Faça um Curta” (make a short film) that started on Monday, July 7th. Cafure presses that it is more than just a workshop. It provides knowledge of production creation and ultimately creating a personal thirty minute short film which will be launched on the O Cubo at a yet to be confirmed date. The course covers a wide range of topics from conception such as scripting, directing, production and acting, to the post-production of editing and distribution.