Stripped down web release for Full Monty man’s film

The Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy is to premiere his next film, This Is Not A Love Song, on the internet.

The digital thriller, about two ex-convicts on the run from vigilantes across desolate moorland, was written – and partly financed – by Beaufoy and was directed by Billie Eltringham in just 12 days, reports Daily Variety.

Conceived from the start with a simultaneous web and cinema release in mind, it will be made available for streaming or downloading on September 5, the same day it makes its debut in four cinemas.

The UK Film Council co-financed the film and is paying the £40,000 release costs hoping that the web launch will attract more attention that it would otherwise receive.

“Most of this is an experiment in how to make it work, technologically and legally, and to see what kind of response we get when we do it,” Paul Trijbits, head of the Film Council’s New Cinema Fund, told Variety.

“For small films that may not get a theatrical release, or may just get on two screens for two weeks, this could make the opportunity much broader for people to see them.”