Babelgum Premieres Dark Fibre Film as Episodic Series

LONDON/NEW YORK/BANGLORE: Babelgum and PRSNL Pictures are to release the fictional documentary feature Dark Fibre as an episodic series online and for mobile ahead of its theatrical debut.

Dark Fibre is directed and produced by Jamie King and Peter Mann. The film examines the paradoxes and tensions inherent in India’s "information city." The movie was shot on location in Banglore, set against the backdrop of the 2009 elections. It follows the everyday life of Rama (Raghav Bhotika), a young “cable wallah” who by day runs an ad-hoc, unlicensed, pirate television network and by night moonlights as an odd-jobbing programmer, servicing rich, idle engineering students and incompetent corporate hacks alike. Canadian actor Peter Wintonick and political dissident Noam Chomsky make special appearances.

Babelgum has launched the first episode of the film, to be followed by weekly segments every Tuesday and Thursday through December 7. Customized episodes of the feature film will premiere alongside three mini documentaries about the present-day sociopolitical background of Bangalore. The mini documentaries and custom episodic version of the feature film will then be used to virally promote the festival appearances and theatrical release of Dark Fibre in 2011.

“Dark Fibre is the kind of status-quo-challenging, innovative film we are always striving to champion at Babelgum,” said Karol Martesko-Fenster, the senior VP and general manager of Babelgum’s film and animation division. “A truly independent high-tech thriller that addresses the paradoxes of our global Internet Age while giving voice to people living on the margins of society. It’s a great project that we’re proud to be releasing in episodic form online and on mobile devices so that we can build a substantial audience for the film in the U.S., Europe, India and elsewhere before it ever plays in a theater.”

Jamie King said, “After the successful online release of Steal This Film, which reached 6 million people worldwide, I wanted to work on a docu-styled feature film that would be released in similar fashion. So we’re especially excited to be working with our co-producing partners at Babelgum on the premiere of Dark Fibre, because they really understand the creative power of digital distribution for independent filmmakers. Together we’ve crafted a unique approach to distributing the film online, harnessing their platforms to reach the widest global audience possible.”