eXe : establishing an innovative and inclusive digital film distribution label

虽然在AHRC资助的项目“为摩洛哥电影建立一个替代分销网络”（2019-22）工作，但研究团队清楚地看到，来自学术界，电影节和世界电影爱好者的观众对“被遗忘”的标题有强烈的兴趣，这些标题要么已经失去了分销商的许可证，要么无法以允许数字分销的格式提供。电影研究（电影史和世界电影）的学术研究人员在识别具有文化和历史意义的电影（通常来自边缘化或以前被忽视的社区）方面的专业知识，加上通过数字发行越来越容易获得这些标题，因此可以转化为商业机会。由于Bab Al-Sama Maftuh /天空之门的成功，（Benlyazid，1989年）作为摩洛哥电影项目的一部分恢复的开创性阿拉伯女权主义电影显示，有一个未开发的市场（在英国和国际上）从这些文化作品中产生更广泛的影响，同时为这些电影背后的艺术家提供收入，历史上，往往被排除在充分实现其工作的商业潜力的机会之外。通过之前由亚洲人权委员会资助的项目建立的联系以及数字发行提供的更大可访问性，建立了强大的市场途径，该项目希望通过推出一个独立的发行标签来实现可持续发展的途径多样化，以帮助实现这些电影的文化，社会和经济价值。透过利用国际电影节网络及发展更广泛的数码发行，拟议的分拆计划将加强这些电影艺术作品的影响力及公众参与，有助回应学术界及业界对电影推广、保存、传播及商品化的关注（短片、长片和散文片，包括虚构和纪录片模式），不适合传统的行业格式，同时为艺术家提供公平的收入和更广泛的认可。该项目还将允许来自埃克塞特大学的学生志愿者在埃克塞特学习期间获得电影发行的实践经验-为这些学生未来在电影发行方面的潜在职业做好准备，并帮助填补英国电影价值链中新兴发行专家目前的技能缺口。

Whilst working on the AHRC-funded project 'Building an Alternative Distribution Network for Moroccan Cinema' (2019-22) it became clear to the research team that there is a strong appetite amongst audiences from academia, film festivals, and cinephiles of world cinema for "forgotten" titles that have either fallen out of licence with distributors or are not available in a format that permits digital distribution. The expertise of academic researchers in film studies (film history and world cinema) in identifying films of cultural and historical significance (and which often emerge from marginalised or previously overlooked communities), combined with the increasing accessibility of these titles via digital distribution, can thus be transformed into a commercial opportunity. As the success with diverse audiences of Bab Al-Sama Maftuh / Door to the Sky (Benlyazid, 1989) the pioneering Arab feminist film restored as part of the the Moroccan Cinema project has shown, there is an underexploited market (both in the UK and internationally) to generate wider impact from these cultural works whilst simultaneously providing income for the artists behind these films, who, historically, have often been excluded from the opportunity to fully realise the commercial potential of their work. Building on the strong routes to market through the connections established in the previous AHRC-funded project and the greater accessibility offered by digital distribution, this project looks to diversify the routes to sustainability by spinning out an independent distribution label that helps to realise the cultural, social and economic value of these films. By using the international film festival network and developing wider digital distribution, the proposed spinout will enhance the impact and public engagement of these works of cinematic art. This helps to feed into academic and industry concerns around the promotion, preservation, dissemination and commercialisation of films (short, feature-length and essay films, which encompass fictional and documentary modes) that do not fit conventional industry formats, whilst providing the artist themselves with a fair income, and wider recognition. The project will also allow student volunteers from Exeter university to gain hands-on, real world experience of film distribution whilst studying at Exeter - preparing these students for a potential future career in film distribution and helping to fill a current skills gap for emerging distribution specialists in the film value chain in the UK.