Washington - Ted Leonsis, the vice chairman emeritus of AOL and a well-noted film buff, on Thursday launched his new documentary site, known as SnagFilms. The DC-based company, also backed by AOL co-founder Steve Case and venture capitalist Miles Gilburne, said that it aims to address the "bottleneck" in documentary distribution that "has left many great films unable to reach their potential audience or to provide a viable financial return."

At its beta launch, SnagFilms has 250 films available for free streaming, with another 200 to be added by mid-August.

The site also includes virtual movie theater widgets that promote viral distribution of the films.

Separately, the company said that it has acquired New York-based indieWIRE, a news, information and social networking site for the independent film community.

IndieWIRE will continue to operate as a standalone site while also providing content for SnagFilms.com.

"Even though tens of thousands of documentaries are submitted to film festivals every year, only a handful find theatrical distribution," said Leonsis, the company's chairman.

"SnagFilms was created so that anyone who has a website, publishes a blog, or participates in a social network can open an online multiplex theater."

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http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080717/20080717005193.html?.v=1

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080717/20080717005194.html?.v=1

http://www.indiewire.com

http://www.snagfilms.com