OTT firms start to pick up festival favourites after critical acclaim

Festival favourites can manage great deals that help recoup their modest cost of production easily

- Lata Jha

For streaming services, box-office performance is a key benchmark for acquiring movie rights. Still, over-the-top (OTT) media firms look for films that may tour the festival circuit without, or with limited, theatrical release in metropolitan cities. That's prompted by demand for variety among a niche audience and potential consumption among the diaspora.

All We Imagine As Light, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, besides receiving two Golden Globe nominations, is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar after a small release in cinemas. Titles like All That Breathes and Girls Will Be Girls have also found their way to OTT services that want to cater to upmarket audiences.