In 2001, film producer Paul de Bont was asked to set up an alternative distribution route for documentary films and, in 2002, DocuZone was established as the world’s first digital documentary distribution system, a non-commercial project with one goal: improvement of the possibilities for documentaries in film theatres.

DocuZone is an experiment to discover whether digital distribution can improve the public awareness for and the quality of Dutch [cinema] documentaries. Since the start of the project, ten Dutch film theatres show a new documentary every week, and the average visitors-rate for documentaries in these Dutch cinemas has risen to 19.5 per performance.

Paul de Bont is here, as a guest of the Festival and the Royal Netherlands Embassy, to participate in panel discussions on digital distribution options in South Africa.