The 2008 Cannes Palme d'Or is the 1st Digital Release to be Exclusively Distributed via an Electronic Network to Theaters in Europe

Palme D’Or winner Entre les Murs, a Laurent Cantet film released in France on September 24th, is the first film in Europe to be exclusively delivered to digital cinemas via an electronic network, thanks to SmartJog, the global leader in managed file delivery, and Cinego, a digital film release management tool.

In order to efficiently manage the digital release, Haut et Court, the French distributor of the film, selected the tool, Cinego, which was developed by CN films as part of a pilot project. As an online platform, Cinego enabled Haut et Court to start and manage deliveries of the film to cinemas, but also to supervise the creation and delivery of the Digital Cinema Packages’ (DCPs) Key Delivery Messages (KDMs).

DCP mastering has been done by Mikros Image, a french digital post-production and visual effects company.

In the past, delivering films to digitally-equipped cinemas was done by duplicating and sending hard disks. For the first time in Europe, Haut et Court decided to digitally deliver the film exclusively via a network. The SmartJog service, directly integrated with Cinego has thus allowed the electronic delivery to more than 30 screens, including the theater chains: CGR, Kinepolis, Gaumont/Pathé, and independent theaters. SmartJog operates a fully managed distribution and file transfer platform which includes the ability to send digital cinema packages (DCPs) and associated contents (keys and trailers) to digital cinemas, eliminating the time-consuming logistics typical of a release. Currently over 90% of French digital screens are connected to the SmartJog network.

This digital release is made possible by the D-Platform pilot project supported by the European Union MEDIA program. The European Union seeks to expand the digital availability and circulation of European films.

Haut et Court is distributing the film in France, while Sony Pictures Classics is handling the film distribution in the United States under the title The Class. The North American premiere of the movie is at the New York Film Festival on September 26.

About SmartJog
SmartJog, a subsidiary of the Multimedia division of the TDF Group, is the global leader in digital delivery with presence in 65 countries, offers a fully managed distribution and file transfer platform for the secure, fast, and reliable digital delivery of content. With SmartJog, clients can digitally deliver any media, any size, to anywhere across SmartJog’s secure network. SmartJog manages the Digital Cinema offerings for the TDF Group, and has worked with the other companies in the division to develop and produce the first European digital distribution platform.

Source: DCinemaToday