BoliviaCine, a new OTT that brings the main Bolivian cinema films together, is now available on its web version. The initiative comes from filmmakers Ariel Soto and Alvaro Olmos, who created it with the aim of enhancing the visibility of the country’s productions, with a selection of local titles available.
‘The idea comes up from the need to have a Bolivian documentary film distribution platform, and given its inability to access commercial circuit rooms. Documentaries are the starting point, and, from there, we decided to start with a simple platform, with few films, but it ended up becoming BoliviaCine, a referential platform for Bolivian cinema, which places us in a place of undoubted reference’, Olmos said in an interview published in the web version of the Bolivian newspaper ‘Opinion’.
Olmos also explained that, initially, BoliviaCine will feature 50 films, including short films, documentaries and fiction productions, and new titles will be added every month. The platform’s business model is based on the online purchase and rental of available films. However, the filmmaker explained that it is ‘a business model for the launch, which, in the future, we intend to evolve’. Access to the platform can be done with a search engine connected to the internet from any device, although, according to Olmos, the next step is to create an application for download.
In addition, although the BoliviaCine project was initially solved with own contributions, it also had the support of the ‘Intervenciones Urbanas’ program, created by the Bolivian Government with the aim of encouraging creative projects by Bolivians in technology and social innovation, cinema and audiovisual, sports and creative industries areas. In a first stage, the program had BOB 140 million (USD 20.3 million) financing available.
The platform joins others already launched in Latin America, which features the main cinematographic works of each country, such as OndaMedia (Chile); Cine.AR (Argentina); PeliDom (Dominican Republic); Qubit.tv (Uruguay); Retina Latina (Latin American cinema), and others.