Pete Torres founded Alza, which held New York City’s inaugural microdrama film festival from 16 to 18 October. The festival featured industry-focused panels alongside a selection of film premieres and microdrama showcases.
Director Jerry Bradford presented a vertical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice during the event. Eric Roberts starred in the premiere of Billionaire’s Broken Vow, while Lachi Music showcased a video collection titled “Glam Struts.”
Salvador Paskowitz received the best director award for his 90-minute comedy Layover. Paskowitz compared early vertical platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox to cruise ships that have run themselves aground due to excessive AI use.
Bill Block, the founder of the microdrama platform GammaTime and former Miramax CEO, noted that the audience watches content while pretending to work at the office. The former CEO described the trend as part of the decline of the West.
Block attributed the operation's brains to his partner Slava Mudrykh and his marketing, AI, and customer acquisition teams in Tel Aviv. GammaTime outsourced many of its marketing efforts to overseas locations.
Major streaming services including Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max are now testing vertical clip feeds, while Instagram and Vurt launched dedicated smart TV apps for the format.
