NFB’S NEW APP “PURE iPHONE GOLD”!
Montreal, November 9, 2009 – Just weeks after its October 21st launch, the National Film Board of Canada’s iPhone application, NFB Films, has become one of the most downloaded, popular and talked about Canadian apps.
In just the space of a few days, the NFB app has had over 60,000 downloads and over 185,000 iPhone plays. It has been hailed by key technology sites such as CNET as “ingenious” and “pure iPhone gold.” The Toronto Star called it an “amazing example of tech savvy and user-friendliness,” while NOW raved: “Awesome... so far, everything the NFB has done with new media has been golden.”
The NFB Films app allows full and free viewing of roughly 800 documentaries, animated films and trailers streamed over WiFi, 3G and EDGE wireless networks – a Canadian film and entertainment breakthrough.
The NFB Films app allows users to download films to watch up to 24 hours later – perfect for commuting. It lets users search our entire collection, navigate by category or genre and build a list of personal favourites. The “nearby” option allows users to see what NFB films people around them are watching: great for sharing experiences and very much in sync with the NFB’s mission as public producer to bring Canadians together in new ways.
As the NFB garners new users and kudos for the iPhone app, it has also reached a milestone on its new website NFB.ca <http://www.nfb.ca/> . Users have now watched over two million screenings at NFB.ca, since its launch just 10 months ago. NFB.ca features over 1,000 NFB productions, with new titles added weekly, in both English and French.
About the NFB
Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board of Canada creates social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. In collaboration with its international partners and co-producers, the NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st-century cinema and breaking new ground in form and content, through community filmmaking projects, cross-platform media, interactive cinema, stereoscopic animation – and more. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. In 2009, the works of NFB animation pioneer Norman McLaren were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Registry. The NFB’s new website features over 1,000 productions online, and its iPhone app has become one of the most popular and talked about downloads.
