Alternativa Launches Global South Film Distribution Arm
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- Alternativa Distribution launched with a ten-film slate to sell Global South impact films to broadcasters and streamers, run by former yesDocu and TikTok executive Avital Lavi and backed by ride-hailing company inDrive.
- The launch slate includes Cannes Un Certain Regard titles "A Poet" (Jury Prize winner by Simón Mesa Soto, with a U.S. remake already in the works) and "If Only I Could Hibernate" (Zoljargal Purevdash), alongside films from Georgia, China, Mexico, India, Iran/Belgium, Bangladesh, Philippines, and Brazil/Chile.
- Lavi described the "fair play model": Alternativa negotiates acquisitions, pays rights holders a fair minimum guarantee immediately, then revenue-shares once distribution begins — and covers dubbing costs so films are "ready for local channels and platforms."
- License fees will be "modest" because Alternativa is a not-for-profit, targeting first-window rights outside theatrical release; Lavi will attend MIPCOM and major TV/film markets to sell the slate.
- Five of the ten slate titles already screened at the Alternativa festival, which grew from a Central Asia awards program into a full festival — Indonesia (2024), Colombia (recent third edition), with Africa set for the fourth edition next year.
- Selection criteria go beyond artistic excellence: Lavi said the team looks for "accessibility potential" — films that resonate emotionally with empathy, hope, and sorrow to "ultimately manage to create some sort of cognitive change."
Why it matters: Alternativa is absorbing the dubbing and localization costs that typically block Global South films from crossing borders, offering rights holders upfront minimum guarantees plus revenue share — a model that, if it scales, could reroute Cannes-recognized titles like "A Poet" straight into TV/streaming lineups rather than dying on the festival circuit.
