by Larry Richman
July 6, 2008 2:12 PM

If there's one single thing I wish more than anything it's that independent films reach a wider audience than they do today. Any attempt to turn what are now undiscovered gems into discovered ones is a worthy pursuit as far as I'm concerned, and that's why I was excited when IFC Festival Direct debuted back in January.

IFC already had a decent track record with video-on-demand (VOD) offerings, which currently number about 25 a year. Adding a new channel for the purpose of exposing indies to the cable TV audience is a win-win for everyone involved. I see so many films at festivals that never see the light of day.

One of those films, which I've written about extensively on this blog for over two years, is Michael Schoeder's Man in the Chair. It was my #1 Top Pick from the 2007 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and one of my Top Picks of the 2006-07 festival year. The film did have a limited theatrical release but was in danger of fading away into the indie ether.

So it's with great excitement that I'm able to report that Man in the Chair can now be seen On Demand via the IFC Festival Direct series, now through September 2. It's available on most major cable systems -- call your local provider if it's not.

Sometime after the Festival Direct On Demand run concludes in September, IFC will be releasing Man in the Chair on DVD.

This is one of those rare independent films that was in danger of being "one that got away." Fortunately, thanks to IFC, it's been reeled in.