Next month’s Sundance Festival will see the debut of a new initiative from Killer Digital, the partnership formed by Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler’s Killer Films along with their former CAA agent Kevin Iwashina, in conjunction with Digital Artists, a venture capital-funded digital production and distribution company.
The venture will kick off at the fest with a four-day live streaming Web series hosted by Vachon (producer of “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Far From Heaven” and other indie films) that will include live reporting on news and trends.
The venture’s plans beyond Sundance are still sketchy. Iwashina hinted at an initiative in the short-films arena.
“One area that gets ignored at Sundance is the variety and plethora of great short films,” he said. “We could bring them to a larger platform through our distribution partners and expand the narrative beyond the shorts, whether to a Web series or traditional media.”
Digital Artists CEO Adam Shaw pointed out that DA, which is funded by Silicon Valley VC firm Deep Fork, is “willing to deficit-finance on a project-by-project basis,” or to mitigate risk via foreign partners or integrated sponsorships. “We are comfortable writing a check if we believe strongly in the project,” Shaw said.
But lean and mean seems to be the order of the day. “The efficiencies of digital production and distribution have empowered filmmakers to be more creative with fewer resources,” said Vachon.
Separately, former Disney production prexy Oren Aviv has joined Digital Artists’ board of directors as an adviser, bringing heft in the area of feature development, production and marketing. The partnership is “creating smarter opportunities for talent and brands to reach beyond the traditional box office,” said Aviv.
