Top brass at both companies have launched an all-rights distributor and will attend Sundance to hunt for product.

Amplify will release seven to 10 films a year across all platforms in bespoke patterns that best suit the title.

GoDigital and Variance will continue to exist as separate brands and operate their digital and independent and international cinema specialties, respectively.

GoDigital CEO Logan Mulvey (pictured) will serve as Amplify CEO. Variance Films president Dylan Marchetti becomes evp of theatrical distribution and marketing and will join former Focus Features executive Kent Sanderson, the new company’s evp of distribution and merchandising, in the New York City office. 

“Dylan and his team at Variance are among the best in the business as theatrical distributors and marketers, and I am truly looking forward to seeing their talents applied to a wider array of films at Amplify,” said Mulvey.

“For the last five-and-a-half years, Variance has had the privilege of helping everyone from first-time film-makers to the founders of independent film release their films theatrically,” said Marchetti. “Now it’s time to take the next step, and GoDigital is the perfect partner to do it with.

“The industry is evolving fast, and Amplify is going to be the best of both worlds: aggressive in making sure that our films stand out from the pack in a very loud way, while remaining constantly innovative and film-maker-friendly.”

Kevin Iwashina brokered the deal on behalf of Preferred Ventures, which since 2012 has been a majority shareholder in GoDigital.