By the end of the first year of operation they hope to have 1000 titles. "At the end of three years I'd like to have everything," Brown says. "Our database identifies just over 2000 titles, going all the way back to The Story of the Kelly Gang [the 1906 film made in Melbourne and as the world's first narrative feature].

"We'll eventually have every Aussie movie ever," he says. "That is our objective."

Whether or not the concept strikes a chord with the masses, it has certainly resonated with the industry. A roll call of actors, producers and directors have lent their support, with the likes of Sigrid Thornton, Claudia Karvan​, Stephan Elliott (director of Priscilla), Kriv Stenders (Red Dog), and Dr George Miller (Mad Max) filming segments for a promotional video for the service.

Brown and Finney have set up a parallel not-for-profit organisation, the Australian Film Futures Foundation, which is in discussions to make the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive available for streaming.

"It will give people a greater overview of our industry," says Finney, a key player in the emergence of the Australian new wave of the 1970s, and now the chair of the Australian Film Institute and AACTA. "It will fill a hunger among up-and-coming filmmakers. We have a very proud and substantial and creatively valuable industry in this country, though a lot of people don't realise that."