A British independent film has become the first film to have its premiere on the Xbox 360 games console.
Instead of being released to the cinema, Pulp, a film set in the world of comic book publishing, will be released today on Xbox LIVE .
Adam Hamdy, Pulp's co-director, said: "Microsoft might not seem like the obvious partner for an indie comedy, but the film industry has changed. Xbox 360 can instantly distribute Pulp to millions of UK customers, and publicise the release in ways that simply aren’t possible traditionally."
The film has already enjoyed some success on the film festival circuit but Hamdy said there are fewer opportunities for getting a small budget film to an audience. The costs of marketing a new film mean that distributors are less inclined to take risks.
Hamdy said: "At the top end of the indie film business the UK is still pretty healthy, but it's the middle tier and the lower budget tier that's struggling. Where they would have been released straight to DVD, the opportunities for doing that have really declined."
The film, which features John Thomson, star of Cold Feet and The Fast Show, is about a comic book publisher who becomes mixed up with a gang of criminals who are using comics in a money laundering operation.
Pav Bhardwaj, Xbox LIVE product manager, said: "It's a great fit," he said. "The film is really well aligned with our audience. All our audience like that sort and types of film and it's great to support British talent."
