Movie Channels
India’s first women’s film company Firehorse Films launched
MUMBAI: A need to create a platform for women filmmakers to express themselves in a male dominated environment as well as the desire to move beyond the commercial scene has given rise ot India’s first all-women film company Firehorse Films.
The company was founded by established filmmakers Venita Coelho and Deepti Datt.
They say, “The philosophy behind FireHorse Films is simple: women first. In the subjects we explore, in the films we make, in the technicians we choose to work with, always women first. Our goal is to become a self-funded, successful, commercial, film production company. We believe in success by the high standards that we set for ourselves. As such, we are an organisation that will seek, always, to work with women professionals of the highest caliber. We believe in raising the standards. Not conforming to them.
“It became apparent, from our experience as women in the film industry, the kind of subject matter – social issues important to us as women – that we would want to explore through film, would not be received well by a largely male-dominated Indian film-finance world. Having considered the hard fact that there are no commercial film companies in India run by women, we concluded what we needed was to create our own platform.
“Our primary aim is to make commercial and documentary films of our choice, dealing with issues important to women, by women filmmakers.”
An official release informs that two such projects at FireHorse are Monsters Under the Bed and Bombay Stories. The former written by Coelho is based on her personal experience with paedophilia. The other film is a documentary by Datt, on the reality of five women’s lives in a small suburb of the city. Bombay Stories explores the status of women today in the different economic and class segments of urban, post-liberal, Indian society, as represented by a small suburb in Bombay.
Elaborating further on the company initiative they say, “We want to, both, directly and indirectly impact our industry by using part of the profits we accrue from FireHorse Film projects towards providing: a platform for women professionals in the Indian Film Industry; start-up funding and seed money towards developing and realizing projects by women filmmakers; and facilitating internships to encourage women filmmakers in the Indian film industry.”
FireHorse Films will participate in and co-organise the Goa International Women’s Film Festival. The event will take place from 6-8 March 2004.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
