SnagFilms Acquires Worldwide Rights in All Media For Acclaimed Surfing Documentary “Splinters”

WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Today, SnagFilms announced that it has acquired full, worldwide theatrical, television, and digital rights to the critically-acclaimed film Splinters.

“Splinters is the kind of film we love”

The film is Adam Pesce’s directorial debut, and is produced by Emmy Award winner, Perrin Chiles. Splinters premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, followed by screenings in the Provincetown International Film Festival and participation in over a dozen film festivals internationally. Splinters won Audience and Best Sports Action Film Awards at the Newport Beach International Film Festival.

Splinters will receive a multi-platform release, with theatrical screenings coordinated with a pay VOD launch on Comcast Xfinity, FiOS, and SnagFilms other pay platform partners and via SnagFilms electronic-sell-through partners, including iTunes and Amazon. The film will also air on television. Following the pay VOD window, the film will be available, on demand, for free on SnagFilms.com, on the SnagFilms app for iPad and connected TV platforms Roku and Boxee, and throughout its extensive digital network of affiliate sites and web pages.

Splinters is the first feature-length documentary film about the evolution of indigenous surfing in the developing nation of Papua New Guinea. In the 1980s an intrepid Australian pilot left behind a surfboard in the seaside village of Vanimo. Twenty years on, surfing is not only a pillar of village life but also a means to prestige. With no real access to economic or educational advancement, let alone running water and power, village life is hermetic. A spot on the Papua New Guinea national surfing team is the way to see the wider world; for some, the only feasible way to leave the island. And for women surfers in this male-dominated culture, second-class access to waves and boards underscores the grimmer realities of abuse and subjugation. These broader themes raise the stakes for a riveting surfing competition off of one of the world’s most pristine and beautiful beaches.

“Splinters is the kind of film we love,” said Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms. “Capturing a unique sense of place and culture, gorgeous to watch, full of tense action and sharply etched characters, and infused with deeper questions of human nature. It doesn’t fit a Hollywood formula – but it will delight a broad audience, thanks to the multi-platform release we are engineering. We’ll ride its wave from theaters, to TV, to pay platforms and ultimately to the broadest of releases, through our online and device network.”

“The festival world gave our film a wonderful launch, and we’re delighted to reach broader audiences through SnagFilms’ forward-thinking approach and vast distribution network,” said producer Perrin Chiles. “It was a privilege to make this film and to highlight the intersection of sports and culture in this rarely-seen corner of the world. In spite of our cultural differences, Splinters reflects the universally-relatable dreams and aspirations shared by us all.”

The filmmakers were represented by Kevin Iwashina and Christine D’Souza of Preferred Content.

About SnagFilms

SnagFilms features free, sponsor-supported, on demand viewing of more than 2,300 award-winning titles from some of the greatest names in film. SnagFilms’ curated film collection is viewed on its own site and a digital network of more than 110,000 affiliated sites and webpages worldwide, including partners such as AOL, Comcast, Hulu, the Starbucks Digital Network, IMDb, the Miami Herald, hundreds of non-profits, special interest sites and blogs — and via its applications for the iPad and connected TV platforms Roku and Boxee. SnagFilms’ titles have been featured on approximately 3 billion pageviews across its network.

SnagFilms also offers selected titles via pay video on demand with Comcast and FiOS, as well as on iTunes, HuluPlus, Amazon and other partners. SnagFilms was recently named one of the fastest growing technology companies in Washington, DC area. Gizmodo has named SnagFilms as a “Best iPad App,” OVGuide has twice named SnagFilms a Top Site, and MovieMaker Magazine named SnagFilms to its annual list of “50 Best Websites for Moviemakers.” The SnagFilms family also includes indieWIRE, for more than 15 years the web’s top source of news, reviews and information about independent film.

About Preferred Content

Preferred Content is a film, television and digital production, sales and financing company. Founded in January of 2010 by former CAA agent Kevin Iwashina and independent producer Ross Dinerstein, Preferred Content handles the sale of the domestic and/or international rights to over 30 films a year and produces or executive produces up to 6 feature films per year. Recent original productions include the 2011 SXSW selection THE DIVIDE directed by Xavier Gens which Anchor Bay will be releasing in the first quarter of 2011, the 2011 Berlin Film Festival documentary selection JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI which Magnolia Pictures will be releasing in the Spring of 2011 and THE DAY directed by Doug Aarniokoski which makes its world premiere at this year's Toronto Film Festival.