New York-based video platform Vimeo has grabbed the exclusive video on demand rights for Planetary, a documentary making its world premiere at the Vimeo Theatre at SXSW in Austin, Texas on March 17.
Partnering with Abramorama and SHFT.com to distribute the documentary for a theatrical release, Vimeo is also co-presenting the film globally and will post it on Vimeo On Demand on Earth Day, April 22.
The debut feature from Planetary Collective, a creative organization “dedicated to worldview disruption,” Planetary began life as a 19-minute short called Overview. The film, which revolved around interviews with astronauts who described what it meant to see the Earth from space, has garnered almost 7 million views to date on Vimeo.
A desire to extend the film into a full-length documentary called Continuum became the subject of a 2013 Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $86,000.
One name change later, and Planetary was successfully completed.
A film about interdependence, weaving imagery from NASA Apollo missions with footage from Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas, along with interviews with astronauts, environmentalists, anthropologists and National Geographic explorers, Planetary is a film about interconnection.
Directed by Guy Reid, written and edited by Steve Watts Kennedy, and with director of photography Christoph Ferstad, Planetary can be pre-ordered for $12.99.
Abramorama’s Richard Abramowitz, Thought Engine’s Karol Martekso-Fenster, SHFT.com’s Peter Glatzer, and Vimeo’s Jeremy Boxer and Sam Morrill brokered the distribution deal.