Fandor

Fandor was an American subscription film viewing service and social video sharing platform in operation from 2011 to 2019.

For the toy company formerly known as Fandor, see Dorfan.
Fandor
TypeSubscription film streaming service, video sharing platform
FoundedMarch 2011
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
Key people
Larry Aidem
Chris Kelly
Dan Aronson
Jonathan Marlow
Albert Reinhardt
David Hudson
Felice Oper
ParentOur Film Festival, Inc. (2011-2021)
Cinedigm (2021-present)
Websitewww.fandor.com

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company was established in 2010 and officially launched on March 9, 2011 at the South by Southwest festival and conference in Austin, Texas.[1][2]

Fandor "specializes in independent films, classics, silent films, foreign films, documentaries and shorts". Most of Fandor's more than 6,000 films are outside mainstream channels and hail from a variety of cultures, time periods, and genres.[3] The service streams content to home theaters, through devices like Roku,[4] computers, mobile devices, and tablets, like Apple Inc.'s iPad.[5] It was previously available through Sling TV, but was dropped on July 2, 2019.[6]

In September 2013, at the Toronto International Film Festival, Fandor announced that the site was launching to audiences in Canada.[7] In 2018, the company laid off its entire staff and sold its assets to an undisclosed investment company.[8] In 2021, Cinedigm acquired Fandor and will reboot the site.[9]

Business model

Fandor employs a revenue-sharing business model, whereby a portion of all subscription revenue is paid to the filmmakers and distributors whose content Fandor licenses.[10]

Fandor did co-licensing agreements with MoviePass and Costco in 2017 and 2018.

Keyframe

Keyframe was the digital magazine of independent and international film hosted on the Fandor site.[11] It published interviews, film criticism, video essays, and other scholarly works pertaining to the art of filmmaking.

On May 1, 2012, journalist David Hudson, formerly of GreenCine and Mubi, joined Keyframe as chief correspondent.[12]

In May 2017, Fandor ceased all Keyframe operations.[13] David Hudson and other editorial staff left the company.

History

Fandor was founded in 2010 in San Francisco, California, by Dan Aronson, Jonathan Marlow, and Albert Reinhardt.[14] Former Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly has been a member of the Fandor board of directors since 2011.[15]

In January 2014, Ted Hope, independent film producer and former director of the San Francisco Film Society, joined Fandor as CEO.[16] In January 2015, Hope departed to run Amazon Studios' original film division, and Chris Kelly became interim CEO. In September 2015, Larry Aidem, former Sundance Channel head, joined Fandor as CEO, taking over from Kelly.[17]

In September 2018, Larry Aidem stepped down as CEO with Chris Kelly taking over as CEO.[18] Fandor subsequently failed to get a round of funding to secure its financial obligations. In December 2018, the company laid off its entire staff and the assets were sold to an undisclosed investment firm.[19][20]

In January 2021, Cinedigm acquired Fandor. The company is planning to reboot the website.[21]

See also

References
  1. Kopytoff, Verne G. (March 9, 2011). "Hoping to be the Netflix for the Sundance Crowd". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  2. Kenny, Glenn (April 7, 2017). "Fandor: A Steaming Rabbit Hole Worth Falling Down". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  3. Ebert, Roger. (June 8, 2012). "Movies don't stream themselves." Archived 2013-02-07 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  4. Sexton, Timothy. (November 10, 2011). "Tech Watch: Indie On-Demand Movie Site Fandor Adds iPad App". IndieWire Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. Lange, Maggie. (January 19, 2012). "Tech Watch: Indie On-Demand Movie Site Fandor Adds iPad App" Archived 2012-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  6. "What happened to Fandor Festival?". Sling.com. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  7. Vlessing, Eran. (September 9, 2013). "Fandor to Launch Canadian Streaming Movie Site." The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/fandor-lays-off-staff-sold-new-company-1202026535/
  9. https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/cinedigm-acquires-fandor-1234887730/
  10. Kung, Michelle. (March 9, 2011). "Fandor Aims to be Netflix for Indie Films". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11. "Fandor Launches Keyframe as the Digital Magazine of Independent and International Film". Yahoo! Finance. March 5, 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2013.. (Press Release)
  12. Singer, Matt (December 26, 2013). "Master Aggregator David Hudson Joins Fandor". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  13. Kaufman, Anthony (May 11, 2017). "Indie streaming service Fandor has closed Keyframe', its five-year-old digital magazine, in a strategy shift that the CEO admits, "is not for everyone"". IndieWire.
  14. Thompson, Anne. (March 9, 2011). "Fandor Streams Indie Video: Sundance Meets Netflix" Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  15. Appelo, Tim. (March 9, 2011). "New Film Site Fandor: A Cross Between Sundance and Netflix, Only Smaller". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  16. McNary, Dave. (January 8, 2014). "Ted Hope Joins Independent Specialist Fandor as CEO". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  17. "Larry Aidem Joins Fandor as CEO (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  18. "Larry Aidem Steps Down as Fandor CEO to Join Reverb Advisors". Variety. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  19. https://www.indiewire.com/2018/12/fandor-lays-off-staff-sold-new-company-1202026535/
  20. https://www.thewrap.com/fandor-shuts-its-doors-after-selling-off-assets-to-an-unknown-buyer/
  21. https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/cinedigm-acquires-fandor-1234887730/
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