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Amazon-owned IMDb ending film festival submission platform Withoutabox

People walk past the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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The Internet Movie Database is rolling the end credits for Withoutabox, its online film festival submission platform that for more than 10 years has catered to indie filmmakers looking to get into festivals including Sundance and Toronto.

Withoutabox will be phased out over the next year, according to a spokesperson for IMDb, which is owned by Amazon. The company said it is working with film festival customers to fulfill Withoutabox’s commitments through Oct. 30, 2019, and is collaborating with filmmakers to ensure that their submissions are processed during the transition phase.

“We are grateful to all the filmmakers who have shared their stories through Withoutabox and the film festivals who have discovered talented artists around the world using our service,” the spokesperson said.

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Amazon didn’t provide a reason why it is discontinuing the platform.

The official site for Withoutabox said that submission services will be disabled starting Sept.16, 2019, and access to Withoutabox will be disabled on Oct. 30, 2019. It advised filmmakers to check with individual festivals to inquire about future submission processes.

The Sundance Film Festival was one of the service’s biggest partners. First-time filmmakers looking to get into the annual Park City, Utah, event could submit their works via the site and create IMDb title pages.

Other festivals that used the service include the Toronto International Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the L.A. Film Festival.

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Withoutabox served as a convenient, centralized platform where filmmakers could manage their festival submissions and IMDb profiles.

IMDb acquired Withoutabox in 2008. The platform was founded in 2000 by David Straus and Joe Neulight.

david.ng@latimes.com

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@DavidNgLAT

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