Super Size Me Filmmaker, Others Start Short Doc Shop

CINELAN launched today to create, distribute and monetize three-minute documentaries on the web, television and mobile devices, and in digital cinemas. The New York-based company comes to the table with a strong roster of non-fiction filmmakers: Academy Award- and/or Sundance Prize-winning filmmakers Steve James (Hoop Dreams), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight), Ross Kauffman (Born Into Brothels), Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), and Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons).

The project was conceived by Spurlock, “branding guru” David Wales and Arts Alliance Managing Partner Thomas Hoegh, according to an emailed press release. Arts Alliance then provided an unnamed amount of venture capital for the company, as well as a CEO, David Schrieberg, a former journalist and web consultant who was most recently VP of content and programming for AOL Europe.

CINELAN, which launched at the Berlin International Film Festival, is looking to reach viewers on “sites they already frequent,” rather than serving as an aggregator or a destination, said the release. So far, its syndication partners are Guardian News & Media, Picturehouse Cinemas and the Vizumi Network. (C’mon guys, YouTube is not that hard to cut a deal with.)

We have written about other Arts Alliance investments LOVEFilm and blinkBox. Other new digital projects from filmmakers and striking writers include Virtual Artists, Jackson Bites, Blowtorch Entertainment, and the Film 7 Fund.)