New Streaming Service 'Academy On Demand' To Deliver Arthouse, Foreign, Classic Film To NZ Audiences

Academy Cinemas have announced the launch of a new streaming service, Academy OnDemand to continue bringing the best independent, foreign and classic titles to Kiwi audiences in a time Kiwis need it the most.

Planning for Academy OnDemand has been underway for a number of months, but with Level 4 lockdown in effect, the steaming service’s launch has been pulled forward to ensure audiences appetite for high quality, independent film is being met.

Academy Cinemas, the two time winner of Best Independent Cinema in New Zealand, have teamed up with a number of local film distributor partners to curate an online platform hosting a range of quality new release and classic titles for New Zealanders to rent.

Key launch titles will include critically acclaimed local films Pecking Order, Waru and Vai. Best of Indie films will range from You Were Never Really Here, Under the Silver Lake and Support the Girls, and foreign titles will include La Dolce Vita, About Elly and The Tribe.

Callum Freeman, Venue Manager at Academy Cinemas commented: “Even though our cinema venue is closed for now due to COVID-19 prevention, we’re so pleased to reassure our loyal customers that Academy is going nowhere. With the lockdown currently in effect, we’re thrilled to provide a quality selection of cinema for New Zealanders who want to see independent films and cinemas thrive, even from their own living room.”

Gorjan Markovski, Programming Manager at Academy Cinemas added: “We noticed there is a lack of independent and foreign films available to view on our local on-demand services, and it’s our hope that Academy OnDemand will help fill that gap. We’re really proud of the quality cinematic offering available for launch and hope indie-movie lovers around the country enjoy the new service.”

Academy OnDemand will be curated by the passionate team of cinephiles at Academy Cinemas, and will include a continuation of the cinemas popular ‘$5 Wednesdays’, giving customers the opportunity to rent recent titles at a discounted price. Pricing on the platform will vary from $4.99 to $7.99 to rent classic and recent release films for seven days. The Academy is also working to host premium films that are brand new to market and those will be priced according.

Local distributor partners include Vendetta, Umbrella, Rialto, Madman and Hi Gloss. The Academy team are working hard to add more distributors and additional films to the selection over the coming weeks.

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