EXCLUSIVE: Producer Arihiro Wada and Director Taichi Ito have partnered on CinemaAirLane, a new international distribution platform set to launch in 2023, which will partner with international film studio NOMA.
The company’s main goal will be to simplify global distribution and directly connect international filmmakers with US theatres.
In its initial phase, CinemaAirLane will enable foreign-language films (with English subtitles) or English-language films from outside the U.S. to approach U.S. theatres. The service will then expand to its more advanced concept, a system that allows streamlined distribution between filmmakers and movie theatres.
The digital platform will also feature functions that aid film marketing, including press release distribution and ad campaign planning. To use the service, films must be available with English subtitles and have a poster, finished trailer, and suitable press images.
The platform will release its beta version in 2023. Its website is now live and accepting waitlist registrations.
Arihiro Wada will act as CEO of CinemaAirLane. He is a producer and distributor best known for titles such as Opening Night, Laughing Lucky Cats, and Two Komachis. He is also Managing Director of the script showcase service Green-Light.
Taichi Ito (Lords of Chaos, Babel, USS Indianapolis) will serve as a business partner at CinemaAirLane. He is also the CEO of EdLead, a Japanese film production company, and NOMA, a film studio which is currently producing a trilogy of films about the world of crypto.
Wada said: “I’ve produced and distributed many independent films in Japan, and I feel there is a problem. As it stands, films won‘t be distributed in the U.S. if you can’t find a distributor. CinemaAirLane changes that. It marks the digital transformation of worldwide film distribution. We are grateful to partner with NOMA, whose support means we can grow to become one of the largest distribution platforms in the world while remaining an independent company. It is a completely new structure for the Web3 era. We are looking forward to discussing CinemaAirLane at AFM.”