Thanks

On behalf of the entire B-Side team, I am sad to announce that after 5 years in business B-Side is closing its doors on March 1.

The timing is especially disappointing, as the past year has been our best ever. In 2009, we opened our New York office and launched a new distribution business, successfully releasing 8 films. We grew to 220 film festival partners worldwide and started off 2010 with our widely praised Sundance collaboration.

Unfortunately, in the face of the lingering economic crisis and ongoing upheaval in the film business, our investors decided to stop funding the company. Under extreme time pressure, we were unable to secure alternate financing, and are left with no choice other than to shut down.

Our immediate focus is winding down the business with as much care and effort as we put into building it. We are working with our filmmakers to find the best possible homes for their films. We are working with our festival partners to ensure a smooth transition from the B-Side platform. And we are actively seeking the right partner to acquire our Festival Genius technology in the hope that it will continue to connect festival audiences around the world.

I am sad to have reached the end of this chapter, but am incredibly proud of what we've achieved. I am confident that our efforts will have a lasting impact on this business. I am also confident that the B-Side team will bring their experience to new ventures that will pick up where B-Side is leaving off.

We would like to thank the filmmakers who placed their trust and faith in us, the hundreds of festivals who were our partners and became our friends, and the millions of audience members who participated and contributed to the B-Side experience.

Chris Hyams, B-Side Founder & CEO
Cassie England
Chris Holland
Chris Sharp
Jamie Balling
Jennifer Lee
Jesse Trussel
Jessica Wolfson
JR Futrell
Lea Prainsack
Liz Ogilvie
Meetesh Karia
Mike McCown
Paola Freccero
Tory Gast

Posted on February 22, 2010 at 9:57 am
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