Helluvan email this one actually: we’ve soft-launched the new RecDek House, our call for shorts is open for our London event and some rather exciting news: the Drive-In.

First things go first.

At Venice we soft launched the new RecDek House platform - an industry members' concierge to push projects forward and connect our community. By providing introductions and insight for members between our film festival events, we’ll be blending what we do in real life with the wider community. If a member can help your career move forward, we’ll make that introduction, as well as provide hands on insight.

The Founding Cohort will be 200 full members - guaranteed access to everything we do throughout the year - a facilitator for members’ careers. We're going to folks in our community first, then opening more widely in the coming weeks.

If you’re reading this, you’re the first to know, and there’s a good chance you’ve been to a RecDek event or have met us at a festival. If you’re interested in becoming a Founding Member we’d like to invite you to be part of the community.

Sign up is here: https://www.recdekhouse.com/

Then, our call for short films

A big shout out to everyone who attended RecDek House Venice on Friday. We announced something we’re very very excited about… Before I get to that, I wanted to let you know that short film submissions for screenings at RecDek House London (in October) are now open. This is for any filmmakers with a short that hasn't screened at a previous edition of RecDek House London.

You can enter your short film (for free) through the new RecDek House website: https://www.recdekhouse.com/

Now then, to the nub of it. The RecDek Drive-In.

We’re launching a Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) platform, called The Drive-In.

RecDek started as a curation and discovery platform for indie film, a place to find something to watch from people whose taste you trust, instead of scrolling streamer algorithms for hours. We began three years ago to industry creatives, hosting RecDek House at the major festivals, RSVP’ing via the app, our community has grown to include a wide cross-section of the industry since.

Which means we've spent three years meeting Producers and filmmakers around the world, all with a problem in common: they’ve found it incredibly difficult to find a sales deal, or to be honest, any sort of meaningful distribution. Perhaps they've sold a territory or two, leaving the rest of the world sitting there. Perhaps they've had "promising conversations" that never materialised. Perhaps they've been asked to pay a sales agent a hefty sum up front to represent their work.

We know it’s a competitive industry, an always difficult market, but considering the gargantuan effort it takes to make a film, this sucks. Without access to an audience a film's chance of revenue dries up - a launch needs momentum to carry it - and until now there hasn't been a comprehensive infrastructure for Producers to use an alternative launch pad when the wider industry fails them.

The RecDek Drive-In is our answer.

At the Drive-In producers and filmmakers can upload their film, set their own price, choose which territories are available, self-distribute, share their work with their communities and the wider world, explore influencer distribution, and, importantly, see revenue land in their bank account in real time from the very first sale.

They keep the data, they keep the IP, they control where their work goes. To close the loop, they can also share their film through the RecDek app, so audiences can add it to their watchlist along side blockbusters, ready for the next quiet evening on the sofa.

Filmmakers should hustle for the best home for their work, wherever they feel their story will be best looked after. And if a traditional deal doesn’t look likely, the RecDek Drive-In can provide an immediate alternative to launch movies. It’s our way of making sure voices from all walks of the world can be seen and heard.

The Drive-In is about empowering creative teams with self-distribution. And if an exciting offer comes from the film being on the Drive-In, that's brilliant, we’re all for the team taking the deal.

For audiences, there's no subscription tie-in or ongoing fees. Just a simple way to find films from the festival circuit and beyond that you'd otherwise never get a chance to see.

We launch in October with our friends at Hiway as our partners in crime.

Filmmakers are registering their films for launch. Yours can be one of them too. If of interest, register (for free) through the new website: https://www.recdekhouse.com/

And feel free to forward this to anyone you know looking for a home for their work.

A final shout out to our sponsors from RecDek Venice 20226!

IMGN - The latest and greatest in movie production tools, if you haven’t dropped your script into the IMGN web app to see just how quickly it can break it down, schedule, shot list, storyboard, build characterisations and sooo much more, you’ve been living in like, 2025. The future tool of storytellers is here now, so go get your film into production quicker than you can say “let us shoot this darn movie” - and - it’s called IMGN.

CEAmusic - CEAmusic is a Swiss music label, production studio, and DJ agency based in Basel. For over 30 years, they have collaborated with established artists and up-and-coming newcomers, combining creative vision with international market understanding. They produce, mix and master music to release level and place artists on renowned labels such as Armada Music, Kontor Records, Universal Production Music, Ministry of Sound, Selected, Blanc and Mia Mendi.

Catch you next week.

Ed

The professionals pulling ahead aren't working more. They're using Claude.

Our free guide will show you how to:

Transform your workflow with AI and stay ahead of the curve with this comprehensive guide to using Claude at work.

Get The Free Guide