We had a feeling this was meant to be after we learned that Flex DVD in lab testing was compatible with 99% of players out there, including game-consoles that play DVDs. But we liked the manufacturer’s reputation, and their comprehensive playability studies. Other film studios might be wary to make a massive release on this 50% lower-impact, flexible new type of disc.

The tough questions from a business perspective were about finding the more efficient technology, understanding if it worked, and how well it has been tested. Tim: The disc is not any more expensive to make than the older types of DVDs. I have to credit the Zabbaleen and Engi Waseff, the director of this film, for giving us motivation.ĭid it cost your business a great deal to produce more ecologically sensible DVDs vs. They collect and manage Cairo’s garbage, and have one of the highest rates of recycling in the world.

At their peak levels, they recycle 90% of everything. They have built a system we could learn from here in the U.S. They are entrepreneurial people, not activists but people who are recycling for survival. It’s a portrait of her family and childhood, and about this community. The film itself, as you may know, is a cinematic documentary about seven-year-old Marina, who lives in a garbage-recycling village outside of Cairo.

Tim: Marina of the Zabbaleen is what inspired us to take environmental initiative here. So what inspired your efforts to release a lower-impact DVD? We didn’t have a focus on green operations, a particular genre or anything besides bringing a systematic approach to our projects. When we first started this business, our goal was just to support and release high quality, if low budget films from talented, responsible people who otherwise might not get a chance. Tim Hobbs and Ori Dov Gratch holding a Flex DVDįrom the start was Torch Films intention to be a “green” studio? Using 50% less polycarbonate material than other DVDs, the Marina”¦ DVD and sleeve package are 100% recyclable and are made of 95% recycled materials.Ĭhief executive Tim Hobbs and finance chief Ori Dov Gratch, who co-founded Torch Films and gave this new format a chance in the market, spoke to EcoSalon about what it takes to greenlight efficiency in an industry known for excess. The studio’s first feature, Marina of the Zabbaleen, a documentary by Engi Waseff, is now sold as a “Flex disc” following a Tribeca Film Festival debut in September 2009.

Eco global survival game torch