The pandemic these past two years has turned many of us into Sofa Cinephiles. Never has a viewer had as many choices as there are today. And not just in the sheer number of choices, but also the variety of film programming available on streaming services.

That said, I’ve  noticed fewer Classics and International films on certain “mainstream”  platforms in recent years, as the “”big ones” are focusing more on original films and series that still have that new show smell.

That has created an opening for what I’ll call “Boutique Streaming Services”; less well- known names, but tremendous catalogs of Art, Foreign Language, Classics, Animation, Shorts and more.

And these sites are considerably cheaper than other subscriptions you may have. For most of us, they won’t necessarily replace Netflix or Amazon, but they’ll make for inexpensive add-ons to give us more options.

We tried several of these boutique streamers and found them virtually all worthwhile. The video quality was top notch and the movies streamed smoothly. It’s just a question of one’s personal tastes. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of three of them:

Topic

Topic starts off with a free 7 day trial, and I’m really enjoying it so far. It specializes in Thrillers, Mysteries, Dramas and Docs from more than 40 countries around the world. I’m currently caught up in an interesting series from Finland called Piece of My Heart. It’s almost like a US cop show, only the partners in this case are child welfare workers.  And there’s a mystery. I’ll review the show separately, but I’m just digging being transported to Finland, of all places.

Not all the content is in foreign languages (all of which are sub-titled; of course); I am also watching a doc from my favorite documentarian Errol Morris – American made and in English.

Topic can be seen on virtually any platform at https://watch.topic.com – it’s $5.99 a month, or you can get it for $4.99 per month if you pay annually.  More information here

Film Movement Plus

Another exceptional service that specializes in Indies and Internationals is Film Movement Plus, which boasts instant access to over 400 films. Their trial period is longer than Topic’s: 14-day free trial and then $5.99/month or $59.99/year. I’ve got a growing watch list and I’ll be reviewing their titles presently. It really seems like a lot of thought and care have gone into the way they’ve curated the content. Browse at https://www.filmmovementplus.com/ . This trailer gives an overview:

Global Cinema Online

One part of Global Film Studio, a Canadian media company focused on ventures that are socially conscious and non-violent, Global Cinema Online offers instant access to films from around the world. You can even click on maps to choose from which continent you want to browse the films.

They have a good monthly email which highlights particular titles of note (By the way, all three of these streamers have excellent monthly emails).

And here’s something different – you can submit your own film for distribution.  If you have a completed film or TV Series (narrative, documentary, docudrama, animation, experimental) and wish to release it on globalcinema.online you may submit it for consideration.

? Non-exclusive contract;

? 60% of the proceeds goes to the filmmaker;

? Geo-blocking is available.

 They’re niche is “no gratuitous violence” and their system is different in that it is pay-per-view, where “the viewers have the possibility to choose the films they want to watch and pay for them in either of two ways: renting a title will give them 24 hours’ time to watch it, while buying a title will give them an unlimited time to watch it as long as the film is on our channel. Right now, prices range from $1.99 to $13.99.”

For me, I much prefer to pay a monthly fee and watch unlimited.  I selfishly hope this format will change, but then again, I review PPV titles every week, the only difference here is that the titles are all in one place. More power to them.  Browse around and see what grabs you at: https://globalcinema.online/

Here is their corporate web address: https://globalfilmstudio.com/

There are other small streamers out there, and we’ll tell you about them as the year rolls on.