If the future of independent Australian film is online, local industry veterans Ron Brown and Alan Finney hope to be the ones who make it happen.

Brown, an experienced producer/director, has partnered with Australian Film Institute CEO Alan Finney to create a streaming service called Ozflix, which they hope within three to four years will become a one-stop portal for every Australian film ever made.

Brown said he could also see a future in which Ozflix - set to be launched next year - became the primary or even the only point of release for independent Australian films.

The Ozflix online portal is expected to go live some time in early 2016. ( Source: www.ozfliz.tv )

"I do, and I'm not the only one to think this. Interestingly I'm starting to get that kind of feedback now from quite a few people," he told the ABC.

"I do believe Ozflix is well positioned to overcome most of the problems that are facing Australian movies and the industry."

Brown said Hollywood's stranglehold on Australian distribution had for too long meant most local films struggled to reach more than a handful of Australian cinema screens.

It is a view shared by University of New South Wales film industry researcher Lauren Carroll-Harris, who believes internet distribution is the future of the local film industry.

"It kind of has to be, because of the way that the cinema industry in Australia is designed to funnel Hollywood output," she said.

"I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that the future of Australian film depends on securing digital distribution to wide audiences."

Ms Carroll-Harris is completing a PhD examining film distribution in Australia and overseas.

She said independent Australian film producers have been "massively" hamstrung by their poor access to Australian screens.

"The games being played by Hollywood on smaller national cinemas like Australia and on independent film and the way that cultural domination happens in the film industry is through the distribution sector," she said.

"A lot of smaller budget or even medium budget films can't get screens because the major studios have agreements with the Australian cinemas to book screens almost two years in advance."

She said an alternative distribution model was sorely needed to ensure small to medium budget productions found an audience.

Best grossing local films since 2010 1. The Great Gatsby (2013) $27,383,762 2. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) $21,673,655 3. The Water Diviner (2014) $14,841,247 4. The Sapphires (2012) $14,475,640 5. Red Dog (2011) $21,467,993 6. Tomorrow, When The War Began (2010) $13,510,000 7. The Dressmaker (2015) $11,596,432 8. Oddball (2015) $10,745,952 9. Happy Feet Two (2011) $10,694,917 10. Paper Planes (2015) $9,654,666 Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia

"Because at the moment, even if you wanted to see an Australian film, it's very unlikely one would be playing at a cinema near you or that you'll be able to find out about it because of the limitations in marketing budgets that we have."

Brown said the economies of scale were why so many Australian movies disappeared without a trace.

"If an Australian film, which often comes with far less star power and far less marketing budget ... during its production phase - if that doesn't generate large box office revenue literally in the first weekend of its release those films will very, very likely be withdrawn the following week."

"Rarely will an Australian film last longer than a couple of weeks."

Since 2010, there have been nine Australian films to gross more than $10 million at the local box office.

But four of the nine have been released in the past 12 months - Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker, Oddball and The Water Diviner.

All four were medium to big budget features that had the benefit of Hollywood production backing, meaning big marketing budgets and mainstream cinema screen access.

'We have access to every Australian film'

Brown said Ozflix was positioning itself away from subscription streaming services by offering films on a pay-per-view basis.

Mad Max: Fury Road, one of four Australian films grossing more than $10 million at the local box office in 2015. ( ABC News Breakfast )

Films will also be bundled together and curated by notable Australian industry players with interviews and other related documentary material streamed for free.

Brown said Ozflix pricing would be revealed on Australia Day 2016, with the site expected to go live several months after that.

He said they had received no resistance from pay TV providers and all film distributors had agreed to provide "unfettered access" to their Australian content.

"We have access to every Australian film. There's no pressure coming back on the distributors from the other channels and I don't think there will be," he said.

"From the point of view of the film rights owners, the producers and the distributors, it's very much a case of if Ozflix can bring in some extra audience and some extra sales and revenue for us we're happy to do it with them on a non-exclusive basis."

Ozflix will also offer material from the National Sound and Film Archive (NSFA), although the details of that arrangement are still being finalised.

Brown said he and Finney had created the not-for-profit Australian Film Future Foundation, which would help pay for the digitising of NSFA material, much of which still only exists on celluloid.

Ms Carroll-Harris remains open-minded on whether Ozflix will be the saviour of the Australian film industry.

"I don't know exactly how it's going to happen online, that's a really open question. No-one really can predict that future," she said.

"But I'm very curious to see what happens with Ozflix because I think they're not competing directly with Netflix and iTunes, they're actually trying to carve out a unique space for Australian film online."