Emerging Pictures

Emerging Pictures was an American theatrical exhibition company established in 2002 by Giovanni Cozzi, Ira Deutchman and Barry Rebo. Its central idea was to create a nationwide alternative to conventional multiplex distribution by linking independent cinemas, museums, performing-arts centers and other cultural venues through a shared digital delivery and programming network. Rather than concentrating solely on mainstream Hollywood releases, the company focused on independent films, documentaries, foreign-language cinema, repertory titles and filmed or live cultural events. The company’s operating model combined exhibition infrastructure with programming and distribution services. Emerging Pictures installed proprietary server equipment in participating projection booths and delivered content through dedicated data connections. It called this system “i-Cinema,” a reference to independent and international cinema and a deliberate distinction from the “d-Cinema” terminology associated with mainstream digital theatrical exhibition. Digital delivery reduced the expense and logistical burden of producing and shipping physical 35mm prints, while also allowing venues to alter programs more flexibly. The network could schedule different content in different parts of the day, giving participating theaters some of the programming adaptability associated with television networks. At its reported peak, the network included approximately 130 venues across the United States, with the technology also deployed in countries including Latvia and Australia. First-run film content came from a range of independent distributors, including IFC Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Magnolia Pictures, Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films. Repertory programming included material supplied by organizations such as Universal Pictures and Janus Films. This combination allowed smaller venues to access both current specialized releases and older works without maintaining a large physical-print inventory. Cultural programming became one of Emerging Pictures’ most visible areas. Its offerings included opera, ballet and Shakespeare performances delivered live or near-live to cinemas. The company’s “Opera in Cinema” programming drew on productions and recordings associated with La Scala in Milan, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera House in London. “Ballet in Cinema” included material connected with the Bolshoi, Mariinsky Ballet and the Royal Opera House, while “Shakespeare in Cinema” presented work from Shakespeare’s Globe. The model positioned Emerging Pictures as a significant alternative outlet for international performing-arts broadcasts, including programming that competed for audiences with the Metropolitan Opera’s Met: Live in HD series. In its early years, the company also offered marketing, distribution and exhibition services for filmmakers across theatrical, television and home-video markets. It closed its general distribution operation in 2009 in order to concentrate on developing the theatrical network. Thereafter, its principal distribution activity centered on cultural programming, much of which it handled on an international basis. Content relationships included RAI Trade, Opus Arte, Bel Air Media, C Major and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Barry Rebo resigned from Emerging Pictures in May 2014 and subsequently became managing partner of Eclair, USA. In 2015, Emerging Pictures was acquired by 20 Year Media. Publicly available reference material does not establish the brand’s current operating status, leadership structure or whether its network continues under the same name.

Emerging Pictures was founded in 2002 by Giovanni Cozzi, Ira Deutchman and Barry Rebo as a theatrical exhibition company built around the needs of independent and culturally oriented venues. The founders sought to connect art-house cinemas, museums, performing-arts centers and similar locations into a national alternative network. The concept addressed a structural problem in specialized film exhibition: many venues had audiences for independent, international and documentary programming but lacked the scale, print access and distribution infrastructure available to multiplex operators. The company’s answer was a digitally connected cinema system. Emerging Pictures installed proprietary servers in participating projection booths and supplied programming through dedicated data lines. Its “i-Cinema” system was named to evoke independent and international film, while distinguishing the service from the digital-cinema standards used by Hollywood distributors. By replacing or reducing the need for 35mm print production and physical shipment, the network aimed to lower distribution costs and make national circulation practical for films and cultural events with relatively specialized audiences. The network also gave venues greater scheduling flexibility. Instead of committing to a fixed physical print for a long engagement, theaters could receive different programs and arrange them across different day parts. This made the participating locations function somewhat like a distributed television network, with a range of content available through common technical infrastructure. Reference material describes a network of roughly 130 U.S. venues, alongside installations in Latvia and Australia as the business began to extend beyond the United States. Emerging Pictures worked with independent film distributors such as IFC Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Magnolia Pictures, Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films to provide first-run specialized releases. It also accessed repertory titles through suppliers including Universal Pictures and Janus Films. In its earlier phase, the company offered marketing, distribution and exhibition services across theatrical, television and home-video channels. In 2009 it closed its general distribution operation and focused on expanding the theatrical network. A major part of the company’s identity became cultural cinema. Through its Opera in Cinema, Ballet in Cinema and Shakespeare in Cinema programs, Emerging Pictures presented live or near-live performances and high-quality recordings from major European and international institutions. Opera sources included La Scala, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera House. Ballet programming included productions associated with the Bolshoi, Mariinsky Ballet and Royal Opera House, while Shakespeare programming drew on Shakespeare’s Globe. This approach allowed local cinemas to act as accessible venues for international performing arts and made Emerging Pictures a notable competitor to other cinema-broadcast models, particularly the Metropolitan Opera’s HD cinema series. The company developed content relationships with organizations including RAI Trade, Opus Arte, Bel Air Media, C Major and the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Its cultural programming was not merely an ancillary feature: after the closure of the general distribution operation, cultural content represented the principal area in which Emerging Pictures continued to act as a distributor, including on a worldwide basis. Barry Rebo resigned in May 2014 and later joined Eclair, USA as managing partner. In 2015, 20 Year Media acquired Emerging Pictures. Available reference material does not provide enough information to determine the company’s present operating status, current executives, post-acquisition structure or the continued availability of its website and network.

1. 2015Acquisition by 20 Year Media

   20 Year Media acquires Emerging Pictures.

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2. 2014Barry Rebo resigns

   Co-founder Barry Rebo leaves Emerging Pictures in May.

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3. 2010Opus Arte agreement announced

   The company forms a relationship with Opus Arte connected with the presentation and distribution of cultural cinema content.

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4. 2009General distribution operation closes

   Emerging Pictures ends its broader filmmaker distribution operation and concentrates on developing its theatrical network.

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5. 2002Emerging Pictures is founded

   Giovanni Cozzi, Ira Deutchman and Barry Rebo establish the theatrical exhibition company with the goal of connecting independent venues through digital technology.

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A digitally enabled alternative theatrical network for independent film, international cinema and performing-arts programming, serving art-house theaters, museums and performing-arts venues.

• i-CinemaDigital theatrical delivery platform

  Emerging Pictures’ proprietary digital cinema infrastructure connected participating venues through installed servers and dedicated data lines. The platform was designed for independent and international films rather than only mainstream studio releases. By delivering programming digitally, it reduced dependence on producing and shipping 35mm prints and enabled theaters to schedule varied programming with greater flexibility.

• Opera in CinemaOpera cinema broadcasts

  A program of live, near-live and recorded opera presentations for cinemas. Its content included productions associated with La Scala in Milan, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera House in London. The series made international opera available to audiences through local theatrical venues and became one of the company’s most prominent programming areas.

• Ballet in CinemaBallet cinema broadcasts

  A cinema presentation series featuring ballet performances and productions connected with institutions such as the Bolshoi, the Mariinsky Ballet and the Royal Opera House. It extended the company’s cultural-event model beyond film and opera by using theatrical screens to distribute international dance performances.

• Shakespeare in CinemaTheater cinema broadcasts

  A program presenting Shakespearean theater for cinema audiences, including work associated with Shakespeare’s Globe in London. The offering used Emerging Pictures’ network to bring stage productions to venues that could not otherwise provide direct access to major international theater institutions.

• Independent and international film networkSpecialized theatrical exhibition2002

  The company’s core exhibition service supplied first-run independent films, documentaries, foreign-language titles and repertory cinema to a distributed network of art-house theaters, museums and performing-arts centers. Content relationships included IFC Films, Sony Pictures Classics, Magnolia Pictures, Kino Lorber, Zeitgeist Films, Universal Pictures and Janus Films.

• 2015Acquisition by 20 Year MediaM&A

  After operating for more than a decade as an independent theatrical exhibition company, Emerging Pictures became the subject of an ownership change.

  What changed. 20 Year Media acquired Emerging Pictures.

  Aftermath. Public reference material does not establish the post-acquisition leadership, operating structure or current status of the brand.

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• 2010Opus Arte content agreementOther

  The company was expanding its cinema-based cultural programming, particularly opera and other performing-arts content.

  What changed. Emerging Pictures formed an agreement with Opus Arte to support cultural-content presentation and distribution.

  Aftermath. The agreement broadened the content relationships supporting the company’s cultural cinema offering.

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• 2009Focus shifts to the theatrical networkStrategy

  Emerging Pictures had initially offered marketing, distribution and exhibition services across theatrical, television and home-video markets.

  What changed. The company closed its general distribution operation and concentrated on building its digitally connected theatrical exhibition network.

  Aftermath. Cultural programming became the principal area in which Emerging Pictures continued to act as a distributor, including internationally.

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• 201520 Year Media acquires Emerging Pictures

  Emerging Pictures was acquired by 20 Year Media, changing the company’s ownership after more than a decade as an independent theatrical-network business.

  M&A
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• 2014Barry Rebo resigns from Emerging Pictures

  Co-founder Barry Rebo left the company in May 2014 and later became managing partner of Eclair, USA.

  Leadership change
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• 2010Emerging Pictures expands opera programming in cinemas

  Coverage described the company’s continuing effort to bring additional opera performances to movie theaters through live and recorded cinema broadcasts.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2010Emerging Pictures forms agreement with Opus Arte

  The company entered a content relationship with Opus Arte to support the presentation and distribution of performing-arts programming.

  Other
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• 2009Emerging Pictures closes its general distribution operation

  The company ended its broader distribution operation and redirected its attention toward building and operating its digital theatrical network.

  Other
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• 2009Opera broadcasts from La Scala and Barcelona return to local cinemas

  Emerging Pictures’ cinema network was covered in connection with returning broadcasts of opera productions from La Scala and the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

  Product launchOther
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1. Emerging Pictures
2. Opera broadcasts from La Scala, Barcelona returning to local cinemas
3. More Opera Coming to a Movie Theater Near You
4. Emerging Pictures and Opus Arte Form Agreement