Asian independent film platform Viddsee has inked a content partnership with tech giant Yahoo, TechCrunch reported.
The startup, which was founded earlier this year, seeks to provide more exposure to Asian films. Asia boasts of many talented independent filmmakers but they hardly have any platform to showcase their work save for infrequent film festivals. Viddsee started to work with various content partners when it rolled out its Channels program in November to provide an avenue to showcase the region's indie films. The deal with Yahoo is the biggest partnership it has bagged so far, the report said.
Viddsee Co-Founder Derek Tan told TechCrunch that the partnership with Yahoo will pave the way for Asian award-winning short films to be seen by a wider audience. Yahoo's Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines entertainment portals will feature the startup's "Asian Short Films" channel.
Tan added that Yahoo's entertainment portal in the Philippines where the channel sits is very robust. He added, "Also, in Singapore and Malaysia, Yahoo has a strong editorial reach where they can position our content together to garner more audiences."
Viddsee was initially meant only for Southeast Asian independent filmmakers. Now, however, the platform features content from indie filmmakers in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the future, Viddsee hopes that the alliances it has forged with Yahoo and other platforms and companies will establish a strong network that allow for an exchange of films. Viddsee hopes to bring the films to other Asian countries and in return get the short films made there to Southeast Asian audiences, the report said.
The media industry is being disrupted by online platforms like Viddsee which provides content creators wider areas to distribute their work. The more popular platforms are Vimeo On Demand, iTunes and Netflix but smaller and less well-known platforms like Viddsee can help increase the exposure of niche content creators. Filmmakers like award-winning director Anthony Chen of Singapore have given their support for Viddsee, the report said.
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