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Global Cinema, the Newest Streaming Channel, Acquires The Lost Village

By Anthony Paradiso

My father, Roger Paradiso, made an award-winning film called The Lost Village, that premiered at Cinema Village in 2018. The film appears on the newest streaming platform on the block, Global Cinema Online. Another film of Roger’s, The Queen of Camelot, appeared in the “Global Non-violent Film Festival,” which only accepts documentaries and feature films that do not contain violence. This film, about Jackie Kennedy and her account of the JFK “Camelot” era, also won an award. It will also be available in June on the Global Cinema Online streaming platform.

After Roger won the Global Nonviolent Film Festival award, he got to know Bruno and Daria who run the festival and also Global Cinema Online. He likes them and what they are doing very much. He calls Global Cinema Online “the filmmaker’s streamer.” In the center of their home page (globalcinema.online) you will see “Explore Our Catalogue.” Clicking on this will lead to a selection of films from Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia.

If you would like to watch movies on Global Cinema Online, the price for renting a film begins at $1.99. One-time purchases of feature-length films start at $13.99; films that are under 40 minutes long start at $7.99. You can also create a profile, to receive email updates on the latest films and also have a record of your purchases. The website is easy to use and I recommend that you check it out at www.globalcinema.online.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Daria Trifu, the executive producer and president of Global Film Studio, and Bruno Pischiutta, film director, and chairman of the board of Global Film Studio.

Why are you, Daria, and Bruno, interested in a movie about Greenwich Village called The Lost Village by Roger Paradiso?

Roger first submitted The Lost Village to our festival, the Global Nonviolent Film Festival, and our selection committee held it in high regard. The film has the proper cinematic quality to be included in the festival, and its subject is extremely important for the viewers because Greenwich Village is one of the many souls of New York City and is not spoken about enough. The historic perspective in which it is written is also very interesting because it depicts an important moment of transition for the Village, and shows its strength and weakness. Roger Paradiso is a director who was already awarded at our festival and is known by our viewers. The Lost Village in an important part of Roger’s filmography.

Since the film was shown originally, just before the pandemic, we have seen huge changes in Greenwich Village. What has changed in your film business, both as a film festival and now as a streamer online?

Film Director Bruno Pischiutta and Executive Producer Daria Trifu, the founders of Global Cinema Online. Photo courtesy of Daria Trifu.

 The pandemic presents an enormous difficulty for producing films. In particular, we make English-speaking films, but the set for our next movie is located in Greece. Our actors are primarily from the USA and the UK. The production entails that cast and crew have to travel. During the pandemic, international travel has been very difficult and, in some cases, even impossible. Furthermore, the danger of putting the cast and crew on the set together could have created a contagious situation where Covid could have been spread. Considering those two big difficulties we decided to wait, and to start production when the pandemic will be under control and international travel will be easier. This created a one-year window that gave us the opportunity to take care and realize another one of our projects that had been planned from some time; it was time to make the streaming channel Global Cinema Online a reality.

Everything went well, and we arrived to launch Global Cinema Online this past April. This pay-per-view streaming channel is available worldwide and, in keeping with our company’s brand, it offers viewers nonviolent visual content. The web address is www.globalcinema.online.

The primary source of our content is the Global Nonviolent Film Festival (in business for ten years), where we have direct access to films that don’t contain gratuitous violence and are rich in quality and topical importance. Global Cinema Online fills a void in the field of video streaming services and offers the public films that give them the opportunity to learn more and to open their mental horizon. From now on, every film selected at the Global Nonviolent Film Festival will receive a proposal of worldwide distribution, with very favorable financial terms, through Global Cinema Online. We believe that our formula is right and that it makes for a win-win situation for all parties involved: the public, the filmmakers, and our company.

How do you think streaming will affect movie theaters?

 It is already a fact that streaming is taking a part of the theater audience. This is happening for several reasons: a lot of viewers prefer to watch a film in the privacy of their home, and they often do binge-watching, something that is not possible in the cinema. It is a new phenomenon that the movie industry has to acknowledge. It is also, however, another source of distribution and income for production companies and filmmakers that is to be regarded with much interest.

What kind of market do you see your new Global Cinema Online fitting into, with all the big streamers like Netflix and smaller streamers like IFC, Ovid, Criterion Channel, Sundance etc.?

 We are not looking to fit in, we are looking to stand out! The concept of gratuitous sex and violence has always been part of a legend that these two elements are the most profitable in film production. It is just a legend because the numbers tell us that the films that make more money are films for the entire family, and sex and violence are just some sort of specialty elements.

When, just recently, Netflix showcased the film Cuties, that has sexual content that’s on the edge, more than 100,000 people left Netflix. They probably did so, also, because some of them did not want their kids to be exposed to this film in their households. This clearly tells us that there is a big necessity for the viewers to look for and find streaming channels that have the niche that they like. We believe that in every country there is a category of people who wish to see films without gratuitous violence.

How can Villagers who love movies find you on the internet, and how much does it cost?

It is simple, and our site is very user-friendly. Viewers from all over the world, without restrictions, can find us on the web at www.globalcinema.online. The site is accessible on all computers and mobile devices connected to the internet. In addition to the custom categories and genres, the films are organized by continent: European Cinema, North American Cinema, Asian Cinema, South American Cinema, African Cinema, and Australian Cinema. 

Our channel works on a pay-per-view basis where the viewers have the possibility to choose the films they want to watch and pay for them in either of two ways: renting a title will give them 24 hours time to watch it, while buying a title will give them an unlimited time to watch it as long as the film is on our channel. Right now, our prices range from $1.99 to $13.99.

 

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