Paco León releases Carmina o revienta simultaneously in cinemas, on Internet, and on DVD

by Sergio Ríos Pérez

04/06/2012 - There has been much talk in the film sector lately about a crisis in distribution for Spanish productions. Poor box office results for films like Extraterrestrial [trailer, film focus] by Nacho Vigalondo, in this case despite the great hype it generated online, has led many to believe that the problem is a rigid distribution system. According to this argument, bad distribution means many national productions are unable to compete with foreign superproductions and exploitation in cinemas is often a disaster, which drags down all other sales, especially in view of the required wait between a film’s release in cinemas and its other releases.

Director Paco León, who is better known as an actor on television, has rebelled again this situation by deciding to release his first film, the fake documentary Carmina o revienta [trailer], simultaneously in cinemas, on the Internet, and on DVD on July 5 at very democratic prices (€ 5.95 per DVD and € 1.95 to see the film online).

Filmin will be in charge of the film’s online distribution, while Cameo will distribute it on DVD. The film’s Sevilla-based production company Jaleo Films will release it in cinemas. Alta Films had originally acquired the rights to distribute the film in cinemas after the Málaga Film Festival, where Carmina o revienta was well received by critics and public alike, and where it won Best Actress, an Audience Award, and a Jury Special Mention). But when they found out about the director’s distribution plans, they decided to withdraw from the agreement.

“If I don’t do this with my film, who will try this experiment?” León told El País. His new release strategy is only possible because Carmina o revienta did not receive aid from the ICAA, who specify that there must be a wait of at least three months between a film’s release in cinemas and its release on DVD.

(Translated from Spanish)