Empowering Independent Cinema.
We are a non-exclusive distribution platform that specializes in getting independent filmmakers discovered by industry professionals in our network such as talent representatives, producers, sales agents, investors, and more.
Our Story
"Sure, it's difficult to make money from short films, but what if we could use your short to get you discovered by industry professionals who resonate with your artistic voice and have the resources to get you on that feature you're dying to make? That's the purpose of RISE FLIX."
— Ralph C. Schulz
Our Journey
How RISE FLIX came to be born.
Concept & Industry Networking
We made it our new year's resolution to build RISE FLIX, spending the first 9 months pitching to primarily talent representatives: agents and managers who represent below- and above-the-line talent. We wanted to see if they would even use such a platform to discover new talent.
Building the Platform
Now that we had curated a network of talent representatives who expressed a strong desire to support RISE FLIX and its future talented filmmakers, we got to coding and programming tirelessly with our talented team.
RISE FLIX Launches
We officially launched to the public and to our industry network of talent representatives with our first release of curated short films. We also created a sign-in wall system to protect festival eligibility for filmmakers still in the circuit, but who already wanted our industry exposure.
Theatrical Partnerships & First Industry Showcase
After appointing our first advisory board members, we closed partnerships with various film festivals and movie theaters across the country, and we hosted our 1st in-person industry showcase at AMT Theater in NYC, followed by our 2nd one a week later at the Chain Theatre in NYC. Both were full houses! The event brought together independent filmmakers with talent representatives, producers, distributors, and even some investors.
Industry Network Expansion & Success Stories
Through a snowball effect and word-of-mouth after our first showcases, our industry network audience expanded immensely from just talent representatives to professionals in all corners of the entertainment industry: Hollywood and indie producers, larger distributors, sales agents, festival curators, investors, and more. We managed to not only get filmmakers and actors represented, but now we were getting feature scripts optioned from their short film proofs-of-concept streaming on RISE FLIX.
1st LA Industry Showcase
We expanded our theatrical reach to LA and launched our 1st LA industry showcase in partnership with North Hollywood CineFest. Our industry network guests consisted of major players such as Publicist Stephanie Pfingsten ("Anora", "The Bear", "Superman"), Max Geschwind (CAA Media Finance), Entertainment Attorney Bianca Goodloe ("Lord of the Rings", "Mission Impossible", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Shelby Schultz (LOOK Cinemas Director of Programming), Financier Steven Istock (President of California Pictures), and many more.
RISE Studios
We decided it was time to launch a production branch of RISE FLIX to utilize our resources to not only connect filmmakers with like-minded industry professionals, but actually be part of their journeys, so that RISE-discovered projects NEVER landed in development hell. We produced and packaged 7 short films and/or proofs-of-concept in our first year.
Cannes Film Festival Marché-du-Film
We were honored to be invited as emerging industry leaders to attend the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Marché-du-Film. We met with production companies, distributors, sales agents, investors and film commissions from all over the world, pitching our filmmakers' projects. This was a major hallmark for RISE FLIX history.
The Future of Indie Cinema
Growing by the day in distribution, production and development… we are producing and co-financing various short films, and we're attached to 4 feature films to date, helping reach financiers, producers and talent. Our primary objective always remains: to launch the future great directors of national and international cinema.
What Filmmakers Say About RISE FLIX
Hear from filmmakers who have been launched and discovered through RISE FLIX
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Rise Flix
Depends on the festivals you're still waiting to hear from! If you're aiming for a Sundance or Cannes, then no you can't be streaming, but many festivals don't have issues with us such as the ones we partner with. Reason why is because their main concern is that potential festival attendees can't just search up the film title on the internet and see it publicly and not have to attend the festival. However, we have a sign-in wall, meaning people can't just search up your film. They would have to search up RISE FLIX, create an account and then search up your film. So there's steps before they can view your film.
Unless you have written a contract with the licensee that only allows you to use the music in the festival circuit, you should be all good!
Once your film is released, it stays on the platform for as long as you'd like it to stay on. We promote it for the spotlight week, after which our platform system's algorithm then calculates when it's due for its re-cycling period and we bring it back into the spotlight for our newest audience members to see.
We release 5 short films for every 2-3 week period, which leaves that last month dedicated to the re-cycling period. The algorithm in our system detects which films are due for a recycle.
Although we have released a feature, we primarily focus on standalone short films and short proof-of-concepts or pilots as long as they are under an hour, because this is the best way we've found to get our industry network engaged.
We want to be known as the platform that launches filmmakers. Where filmmakers go to be discovered by representatives, producers, financiers, etc.
We launched in September 2023, so we're almost two years old. However, before even launching, we had spent about 9 months just meeting with industry professionals with members of our advisory board, pitching the concept of the platform to see how many would get involved. This is how we managed to curate a full network of industry specific viewers.
Ready to Create Magic?
Join thousands of filmmakers who have trusted RISE FLIX to bring their stories to life. Your masterpiece deserves the best platform.