August 14, 2020, marks the 20th anniversary of IndieFilmWeb.com (IFW), Australia’s first ever streaming film and music website. Founded and Produced by Brian M Logan, IFW was the first time Australians ever got to watch streaming movies, music videos and documentaries on their computers.
Sponsored exclusively by Apple, IFW streamed with the Apple Quicktime 4.12 codex when originally launched, and the site was reported in the Australian media as: ‘The biggest thing to happen to the Australian Independent Film and Music industries since the advent of television’. And its launch marked a significant shift in how Australians viewed content.
Though a website long since lost to the dotcom collapse, and forgotten by the passages of time, IndieFilmWeb.com is a site that shall live long in the memory. For those who used it. And for those many talented film, music and web professionals who were involved in bringing it to life.
In the here and now of course, we don’t think twice about watching a film or music video on the internet. But think back to the start of the millennium, to 4 YEARS BEFORE YOUTUBE EXISTED. And imagine the excitement of Australians logging into IndieFilmWeb.com and actually watching a film or music video on their computer! From the comfort of their own home, no less! It was nothing short of breathtaking. They weren’t at the cinema. They weren’t sitting in front of their TV in the lounge room. They were in front of their home computer, which was connected to that new and still rather shiny thing known as: ‘The Internet’.
When I conceived and produced IndieFilmWeb.com in 1999/2000, I did so based on an idea I had had for many years to take independent film and music distribution out of the hands of the Murdoch’s of the world, and place it squarely in the hands of the filmmakers and musicians themselves. And as blasé as this all sounds to the Millennials reading about this today, in 2020. I still get goose bumps when I think of the first time I ever saw an IFW short film stream on the computer in my office back in my home in Lane Cove. When those images on my computer MOVED. Actually MOVED. It was well and truly a ‘WOW!’ moment. And something I will never forget.
Regards
Brian M Logan
Founder & Producer
IndieFilmWeb.com
IFW Press:
IFW Press 1 – IFW Press 2 – IFW Press 3 – IFW Press 4
