As a seasoned cinephile with decades of movie-watching under my belt, I find the emergence of platforms like Jolt.film truly exhilarating. The documentary “The Bibi Files,” which has been shunned by major streamers due to its political nature, is a breath of fresh air in this landscape. It’s refreshing to see filmmakers embracing alternative modes of distribution and finding innovative ways to reach their audience.
As a movie reviewer, I’m thrilled to share that starting December 11th, you’ll have the opportunity to stream “The Bibi Files” exclusively on Jolt.film. This intriguing documentary offers an unprecedented look into the life of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, as he faces police interrogation over corruption charges – charges that eventually led to his indictment in 2019. Don’t miss this unique chance to delve deeper into the political landscape of Israel through never-before-seen footage.
In September, Netanyahu attempted to prevent “The Bibi Files” from being shown at the Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, the documentary eventually premiered at the festival, just hours after a court in Jerusalem dismissed Netanyahu’s lawsuit. The suit alleged that the film breached Israeli law by utilizing unauthorized interrogation footage.
Due to its politically charged content, “The Bibi Files” failed to attract any major streaming services after its premiere at the TIFF on September 9th. Instead, directors Bloom and Gibney opted to distribute the film through Jolt, a relatively new platform that delivers films directly to consumers. Launched in March, Jolt has previously released documentaries such as “Hollywoodgate” and “No One Asked You.” In December, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s documentary “Gaucho Gaucho,” which premiered at Sundance 2024, will be available for streaming on Jolt.
Gibney expresses his interest in exploring unconventional distribution methods due to the current consolidation trend among corporations, stating it’s long overdue. He points out that many quality films are being produced but struggle to reach their intended audience because the major players seem to be obstructing their visibility. Thus, he sees this situation as a perfect chance to innovate and offer something fresh and distinct.
As a passionate cinephile, I can’t help but share my thoughts about our film. Despite Israel being a constant headline, it seemed no one was willing to tackle this project. My partner Alex and I felt that rather than watering down the content to appease potential concerns, we should embrace another exciting opportunity technology presents – Jolt. In what felt like the blink of an eye, these streaming platforms emerged everywhere. Perhaps Jolt could serve as a platform for films that other streamers shy away from or refuse to handle.
Intended to provide a boost to a small-scale film that could have been a hit at international film festivals but has struggled to secure traditional distribution, Jolt was dreamt up by the same team behind Impact Partners – a company dedicated to financing documentaries focusing on social issues and boasting one of the largest investment portfolios in the independent documentary scene.
For the past two years, Jim Swartz, co-founder of Jolt and Impact Partners and founder of Accel Partners (an early investor in Facebook), has observed that streamers have stepped back. According to him, there’s a general reluctance to involve oneself with projects that might be considered sensitive to specific groups, whether they relate to politics or social issues. This has led to concerns within the industry about its current state and questions such as, “How can we address this?” or “What are our next steps?” Some have even suggested seeking government funding. However, Swartz and his team grew tired of these discussions and decided to take action. They aim to create a platform that prioritizes filmmakers’ needs and preferences.
On this specialized platform, you’ll find approximately 20 to 25 films – a mix of documentaries and narratives – throughout the year. Remarkably, there are no membership fees for filmmakers to join. Instead, filmmakers themselves set the ticket prices for their movies; for instance, viewing “The Bibi Files” will cost $12. Subsequently, Jolt leverages sophisticated data analytics and machine learning to create tailored marketing strategies for each individual film, aiming to locate audiences and boost visibility. Importantly, all accumulated data is shared with the respective Jolt filmmakers.
Swartz explains that they’ve developed a sophisticated and cutting-edge AI model, referred to as a large language model (LLM), for audience discovery. For each movie they handle, they spend a month analyzing it from both human and machine perspectives to pinpoint the top 10 potential audiences. Subsequently, they create tailored brief ads for platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and so on, to reach these identified audiences. Consequently, they can swiftly assemble an audience for each film on a case-by-case basis.
On Jolt, films aren’t stored as permanent archives – after spending 90 days on the site, documentaries are removed. After covering the costs related to direct marketing, Jolt distributes 70% of the revenue generated from these films to filmmakers, while they keep the remaining 30%. Any profits made by the platform are utilized for its continued operation as a for-profit entity. Directors maintain ownership over their movies and all future rights associated with them.
The Bibi Files” is the breakthrough that Jolt has been seeking. It’s a documentary focusing on Netanyahu, a figure who captivates the attention of people worldwide for multiple reasons. Gathering an audience for this docu won’t require extensive research. Rather, the expectation is that the film will bolster Jolt’s reputation and attract more filmmakers to collaborate with the company.
Tara Hein-Phillips, CEO of Jolt, notes that Alexis and Alex endorsing the platform while expressing their intent to bypass traditional systems and directly connect with audiences, saying ‘These systems are flawed. We choose to carve our own path because this film demands a massive audience, and we feel confident in our decision,'” sheds light on a significant shift towards accepting independent approaches for filmmakers. By demonstrating that alternative paths can indeed be successful, they’re paving the way for others to confidently reject unfavorable offers.
Swartz proposes, “By releasing a ‘Bibi Files’ every half a year or annually, we can establish a business that accommodates movies with smaller viewership. Our goal is to earn enough revenue from producing such films so that we can also create content for less popular or specialized audiences.
In my experience, I’ve seen that bypassing conventional sales channels and connecting directly with consumers has been a successful approach in various aspects of the entertainment world.
Back in 2012, I was truly inspired by the comedians who’ve managed to carve out their own niche by producing and selling their stand-up comedy specials directly through their personal websites. One such trailblazer is Louis CK, whose special “Live at The Beacon” created quite a stir when he decided to sell it for just $5 online. Incredibly, he raked in an impressive million dollars within a mere 12 days!
Swartz states, “We’re not aiming to establish a vast empire, but rather, we’re simply utilizing standard business marketing strategies in the realm of films.
“The Bibi Files” will have an Oscar qualifying run in November.
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2024-10-22 00:47