Glen Grunau | President, NIFSS
Last night I caught the latest instalment from the popular Knives Out franchise - the last day in theatres before it streams on Netflix. It was a remarkably good movie! After my last two recent Netflix watches - Train Dreams and now Wake Up Dead Man - for one fleeting moment I wondered if I was being too harsh with my criticism of this streaming behemoth.
True confessions: I am a big-time movie streamer with a guilt complex that I do not better support my local cinema. But my streaming allegiance rests with Kanopy, Criterion Channel, Tubi, CBC Gem, and Crave. It is not often when a cinephile can make a political statement, but I can with my boycott of Amazon Prime and Netflix. Although about once a year I subscribe to Netflix for one month to catch up on the rare occasions when Netflix streams a movie on my watchlist.
You probably heard that Netflix is currently mired in a contentious corporate takeover tainted with political interference. One more reason I view all things Hollywood with a tad of suspicion.
My allegiance remains with independent filmmakers and the festivals that feature them. This is why I passed over all the Netflix films at VIFF this year, and there were a record number of them. I am content to wait for them to show up in theatres or stream, although I would rather support my local cinema than a streaming giant that is rapidly earning the sketchy and unenviable reputation as the master of the “algorithm movie”.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out this in-depth read in The Guardian about Netflix, it is virtually a must-read for anyone concerned with the future creative autonomy of cinema.