Australian film, The Tunnel, has been listed on IMDB after initially being excluded for as it was made for release on download service BitTorrent.
It’s a landmark win for the indie horror movie, which was funded by fans investing a AU$1 (61p) stake for each of the 135,000 frames used.
The Tunnel was excluded from movie database IMDB on the grounds that it was made only for release on BitTorrent, a service often used to illegally file-share. However after overwhelming pressure from film buffs online, Amazon-owned IMDb backed down and gave The Tunnel its own entry.
Executive producer Enzo Tedeschi said: “The internet was meant to be a tool to connect us. It was meant to break down borders and liberate.
“Now we have an entire generation who are labelled criminals for using that tool.”
After IMDB added The Tunnel to its archive, Tedeschi wrote this letter:
“Dear IMDb,
We are writing this time to thank you for including “The Tunnel” on your online database.
It may seem like a small thing to IMDb, but it is an indispensable tool for us to be able to market our project effectively and help ensure it’s success. It’s also reassuring to see that after 20 years of operation, that you are still able to listen to your user base. We’re sure that the online clamour made by our fans and supporters has not been lost on you.
We sincerely hope that this trend will continue into the future for other serious independent filmmakers to take advantage of.
Once again, thanks very much.
Yours sincerely,
Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey
Executive Producers of The Tunnel”
Check out the Aussie fright flick trailer here.