Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched state’s first government-owned OTT platform, “CSpace,” on Thursday as a significant milestone in the development of Malayalam cinema.
At a celebration held at Kairali Theatre here to inaugurate CSpace, which is run by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), the chief minister stated that this is a groundbreaking initiative that elevates films with artistic and cultural value without harming the mainstream film business.
He noted that whereas the primary goal of the private-sector OTT platforms, which mostly stream commercial films, is profit, CSpace is poised to establish itself as a platform that delivers high-caliber films to home theaters.
“Private OTT platforms give prominence to films in the most widely spoken language since their prime motive is to maximise profit. The priority of CSpace, on the other hand, is to onboard and stream contents with artistic and cultural values. This will also help the promotion of the Malayalam language and culture,” Vijayan said.
According to him, the introduction of CSpace also represents the use of cutting-edge technologies that will shape Malayalam filmmaking in the future.
The decision by CSpace to exclusively broadcast movies that have previously been theatrically released indicates that the film industry will not be negatively impacted by this decision.
The films that win state, national and international awards will be streamed on the platform, he said.
Eminent director and KSFDC chairman Shaji N Karun described CSpace as a cutting-edge project that aims to assist producers in recouping their investment through crowdsourcing.
According to him, the platform’s unique selling points are its complete transparency regarding the amount of money it makes and the amount of users it draws.
KSFDC, a state-owned organization under the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala, is tasked with promoting Malayalam cinema and industry.
KSFDC has assembled a 60-person curator panel, comprising well-known cultural figures such as Benyamin, OV Usha, Santhosh Sivan, Shyamaprasad, Sunny Joseph, and Jeo Baby, to choose the content.
Before being featured on the platform, every submitted content will undergo an evaluation by curators who will take into account its creative, cultural, and infotainment merits.
In the initial stage, 42 movies, 35 feature films, 6 documentaries, and 1 short films were chosen to be streamed on CSpace. Moreover, films that have screened at significant film festivals and won national or state awards will be broadcasted.
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