New (and free) service wants to be your go-to for Aussie films

Cash-strapped Aussies looking for a way to stay entertained now have a new free movie streaming option in the form of Brollie.

Backed by local indie distributor Umbrella Entertainment, the streaming service is slated to go live on 23 November 2023. At launch, the service will boast over 300 titles. 

As opposed to the likes of Tubi and Kanopy, Brollie is billing itself as the free streaming service that shines a spotlight on modern Australian flicks like The Babadook, older Ozploitation flicks like Windrider and a Indigenous-centric classics such as Storm Boy and Walkabout. 

Brollie will also feature a monthly film club, with an in-house team handpicking the best the catalogue has to offer on a bi-monthly basis, plus a companion podcast hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos called Sunburnt Screens: The Australian Cinema Odyssey.

According to Umbrella Entertainment's Ari Harrison, the biggest strength of the catalogue here is that it is full of Australian cult classics which aren’t available on other streaming platforms.

Australian film critic Travis Johnson expressed high hopes for the service, "which looks like it's learned from the mistakes of the much-missed but flawed OzFlix."

 "A free, ad-supported streamer will certainly get more eyes on Australian films than a digital rental storefront, especially during a cost of living crisis."

"While I'm tempering my enthusiasm until the full launch title list drops, my hope is that this will grow to be an incredible cultural resource going forward, offering a venue for many fantastic Aussie movies that have slipped through the cracks of the modern distro paradigm," he said.

Aussies will be able to access Brollie once it launches later this month via a plethora of platforms, including iOS, Android, Google TV, Apple TV and web browsers.