Doc Alliance, the partnership between five leading documentary festivals (CPH: Dox Copenhagen, DOK Leipzig, IDFF Jihlava, Planete Doc Review and Visions Du Reel) has launched its own online portal.

The new website, which goes live on March 1, will make available 250 films to stream or download. This will include key works by such filmmakers as Ulrich Seidl (Jesus, You Know), Jorgen Leth (New Scenes From America) and Chris Marker (The Case Of The Grinning Cat.)

Films will be available for between$1.30 and $6.50, and they can be streamed or downloaded. Doc Alliance has a licensing agreement with the producers and distributors of the film, and proceeds will be split on a 60:40 basis, with Doc Alliance taking the smaller chunk.

'The goal is really to give these films a life after the festival,' said Gabriella Bussmann, associate director of Visions Du Reel, of the thinking behind the new initiative, which has secured substantial Media Programme support.

Doc Alliance is promising 20 new films each month.

It is conceivable that other doc festivals (including those outside Europe) may be invited to join Doc Alliance. 'We all stand for creative documentaries. We are smaller festivals we have the same spirit,' Bussmann said.

Doc Alliance is officially based in Prague. Other initiatives hatched by the five strong body include 'The Doc Alliance Selection,' through which each of the festival partners choose one film. The five films then tour at the five Festivals starting in Visions Du Reel in Nyon, and at the end of the year an international jury decides the 'Doc Alliance Award.' The festivals then support the films in their theatrical, TV and DVD distribution.

Visions Du Reel (April 23-29) has now announced its programme, which will include 'Ateliers' with filmmakers Sergey Dvortsevoy and Lebanese directors Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige as well as a showcase of the work of Susan Mogul.