Lionsgate knows the genre game and now they're branching out to the indie scene. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is launching its Meridian DVD label this spring. The new collection will focus on indepedent film and international releases from both its own catalog and the more than 2,000 European releases from the Studio Canal library, which it also owns.
"Because of our relationship with Studio Canal and looking at our own library, we thought there was an opportunity to present discerning consumers with these acclaimed and influential films," said Anne Parducci, executive vp marketing at Lionsgate.
The studio will release two DVD's every three months under this banner, which will be kicked off by the June 3 releases of the French films Diva and Red Violin.
Parducci said that this new line will cater to art-house fans and the discs will offer special features more in tune with the making of the film and less gimmicky.
"We want to be able to capitalize on the fact that there are consumers out there who have an affinity for specific films," Parducci said. "These are really the definitive presentations of these movies: We're taking what that film is known for and why it is considered influential and then exploring that further through the special features."
"Diva, for example, is known for "how visually arresting it is," Parducci said, "so we are taking a deep dive into that style through interviews with the director, the director of photography and the set designer."
Diva will also feature interviews with the composer and cast members as well as a scene-specific audio commentary with Beineix, while Red Violin includes a musical feature with composer John Corigliano and a documentary on violins and violin auctions.
The Meridian Collection is the second of three new Lionsgate DVD collections. The first, the Director's Series, launched last year with a boxed set of early movies by Alfred Hitchcock and the Celebrity Series will launch on June 10 with the release Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve boxed sets.