Sofy.tv

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Sofy.tv is a dedicated short film streaming platform, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The platform was launched in May 2018 and is owned and run by Largo Films. Users can access Sofy.tv either as a monthly subscription-based streaming service or on a pay per view basis.

To date, Sofy.tv has over 500 short films in its catalog, many of which have won awards in top international film competitions that include the Academy Awards, The Cannes Film Festival, and The Sundance Film Festival.

The platform prides itself on its business model that rewards filmmakers financially every time their film gets viewed.  This fact, when coupled with almost universal worldwide access, has led to some referring to the platform as the Sofy.tv revolution.

History

In early 2016, a group of passionate short filmmakers that included director Sami Arpa and Vassilis Kalofolias, came up with a solution to the short film distribution problem. Despite being universally recognized as an important narrative form, short films (or shorts) struggled to get the distribution they needed to reach audiences.

Inspired by the success of video on demand sites such as Netflix and YouTube, the group decided that the solution to the problem was to create a site where short movie fans could stream media on demand to their computers, smart TVs and devices such as their smartphones.

The official beta launch of Sofy.tv took place on 28^th May 2018. Despite there being hundreds of film websites, Sofy.tv is one of the few that is specifically short film focused.

Sofy.tv is supported by many innovation support programs like Venture Kick, Innovaud, Canton De Vaud, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne University.

Development of Innovative Movie Recommendation Technology  

Sofy.tv recently announced that it would launch its cutting-edge ‘film categorization’ tool that uses sophisticated AI technology and advanced computer algorithms to create detailed profiles as to exactly what the content of any particular film is.

The aim of this film categorization tool is to offer members even more accurate film viewing recommendations. Rather than simply offering users films based on genre or cast similarities, Sofy.tv will be able to recommend films based on the percentage of specific content/themes etc. that a member has displayed a past preference for watching.

This new technology was created with the help of a team of scientists from the Image and Visual Representation Lab at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne University.

The team behind this new technology claims it is the most accurate data analytic tool of its kind in the world today.

The Sofy.tv Mission: Supporting Filmmakers And The Short Film Industry

For generations, the short film industry has suffered from severe underfunding and film distribution problems.

Sofy.tv allows any filmmaker to submit their film for consideration for entry to the platform. Provided the film meets the site’s guidelines (under 40 minutes in length), it will then be scrutinized by the selection jury. If approved, the film will be uploaded in high-resolution format and made available for members to watch.

Filmmakers are rewarded financially when their films are viewed. The aim of this model is to help filmmakers generate income towards their next project.

The team behind Sofy.tv believes that the ability of filmmakers to show profits from their films will help bring about a radical change to the short film industry. Much in the same way that MTV helped create a billion dollar industry from the short music video, short film streaming sites that reward filmmakers financially have the potential to do the same.  

References

This article "Sofy.tv" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Sofy.tv. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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