Sundance Channel Launches In Latin America

Sundance Channel launches in Latin America thanks to a partnership with DirectTV. ReMezcla reports that the TV version of the independent movie festival launched last week in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. There are also talks of a Portuguese language version for Brazil. And there are talks of starting a separate Portuguese language channel in Brazil. The AMC-owned US version is focused on airing American independent films, however, this new version will provide a platform for independent Latin American film makers to have their work seen by wider audiences.

The Sundance Channel version in Latin America channel will be a Spanish-language 24/7 linear network. It will feature both a regional independent films as well as films and documentaries from around the world. However, it seems there will still be an American influence to programming as recent films on the Sundance Channel Latin America have included Kevin Smith's Clerks (Vendedores) Adam Leon's Gimme the Loot (Graffiteros) and the celebrity confessional show The Mortified Sessions 101 (Las Sesiones Mortificadas 101). Bruce Tuchman, president of AMC/Sundance Channel Global stated yesterday that "these exciting, new distribution agreements reflect the importance of Asia and Latin America as critical regions in our global expansion strategy,"

The Sundance Channel launched in the United States in 1996 as a subsidiary of Robert Redford's popular independent film festival. The AMC-owned channel devotes its programming to airing independent American feature films, world cinema, documentaries and short films. It has also created its own original programs and, in recent years, developed a series of reality TV programs. It also includes information about the latest developments in each year's Sundance Film Festival.