07/08/2018 - The much-anticipated analytics tool is aiming to expand and attract new users, while four handpicked films will be screened at different locations during August

CUES intends to become one of the most sought-after tools for the film industry by providing audience analytics and using a Tinder-like interface via its app. It aims to connect viewers with the films that they actually want to see, thus building demand for both VoD platforms and screenings at local cinemas.

Starting its journey in 2017, when it won the IFFR Propellor Kickstart programme, CUES was founded by UK producer and Techpreneurs Women in Tech Award recipient Victoria Thomas, and is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA. Its hot streak has continued since then, as it has already participated in the Berlinale’s EFM Horizon Startups programme and the Storytek Accelerator at Cannes NEXT this year (see the news). CUES is now launching its iOS app and is organising four August screenings in different locations around Europe.

The philosophy behind the app involves suggesting a number of trailers to the user. If the user watches a trailer and wants to see the film, he has to swipe right; if not, he swipes left. When the movies on the “swipe right” list become available in his region or on a VoD platform, the producers will get in touch with him and inform him when and where they are being screened. Apart from user data, CUES also uses algorithms to provide other useful insights for cinemas, filmmakers, producers, sales agents and other members of the film industry.

The next step in the implementation of the app involves four handpicked European co-produced films that will be screened in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK at precise locations and on certain dates. In partnership with local cinemas, CUES asks its users to watch them and, through sentiment analysis tools and monitoring the engagement for each film, more information will be available for the platform. Furthermore, additional editorial content that shines a spotlight on the European film industry will be launched.

The four selected films are:

Welcome to Sodom [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Austria) by Christian Krönes and Florian Weigensamer, screened at Universum Filmtheater, the most important arthouse cinema in Braunschweig, Germany, in collaboration with the Braunschweig International Film Festival, on 13 August.

Time Share [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Mexico/Netherlands/UK) by Sebastián Hofmann, screened at Cinema Galeries, a venue dedicated to cinema in all its forms, in Brussels, Belgium, on 15 August.

Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (UK/Germany) by Thomas Riedelsheimer, screened at Museum Oud Amelisweerd in Bunnik, Utrecht, Netherlands, as part of the “Cinema Buiten” Filmtheater 't Hoogt open-air screenings, on 30 August. 

Cold War [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile] (Poland/UK/France) by Paweł Pawlikowski, screened at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, one of the leading independent cinemas and creative media centres in the UK, on 31 August.