IFC Teams with Netflix to Bring 53 New Films to Streaming “Watch Instantly” Service

While not quite as massive as the thousands of films the Starz deal provided to Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” service last year, IFC Films has signed an exclusive streaming deal with Netflix for 53 of IFC’s films.  Among the 53 films are John Sayles’ The Brother From Another Planet and Return of the Secaucus Seven; Christopher Nolan’s first film, Following; James Toback’s When Will I Be Loved?; the Errol Morris’ documentaries Gates of Heaven and The Thin Blue Line; Susanne Bier’s Brothers (which is the original version of the upcoming Tobey Maguire/Natalie Portman/Jake Gyllenhaal movie of the same name); and Alfonso Cuaron’s first feature film, Solo con tu pareja.  The press release doesn’t say whether or not any IFC Films beyond the 53 they’re adding today will become available on “Watch Instantly”.

For those who don’t know, Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” service allows Netflix subscribers who have at least the $8.99/month plan to watch as many streaming movies as they want online-provided that the film is available in their streaming service.  There is a strong selection of movies (I currently have 184 films in my “Watch Instantly” queue), but it can be frustrating to keep checking the “Watch Instantly” page and no new films have been added.  Then again, I already have 184 films I could watch now so I’m not sure why I’m complaining.