Interesting move from Piano Media, the Mitteleuropean paid-content firm — adding an online film festival to its Polish subscription package. From the release:

“We found that independent filmmakers did not have a reliable way to monetize their films online,” said Piano’s country manager Peter Richards. “Usually these kinds of films have limited distribution and are not available to the average viewer because they are screened at film festivals or they have limited screenings in cinemas. Now though, Piano subscribers will be able to enjoy independent Polish films from the comfort of their own homes. Adding video content to our existing news and music content enriches our subscription package.”

The Online Film Festival, sponsored by Gazeta Wyborcza will add a new film every Friday and be available to those with a Piano subscription. Gazeta Wyborcza decided to begin streaming independent films within Piano after noting the success of streaming independent Slovak films as part of Piano’s Slovak portfolio, on the website of the weekly magazine, .týždeň. “We continue to expand our range of online content,” said Michał Gwiazdowski, Digital Content Publisher at Gazeta Wyborcza. “I’m glad that apart from Gazeta Wyborcza, we can now offer under the same subscription, movies that are artistically ambitious and socially important.”