Allen Maldonado, the actor from “Black-ish” and “Survivor’s Remorse," announced at this year’s Sundance Film Festival that he was launching an app for short films. The app, called Everybody Digital, is officially introduced to the public today. The actor wrote on his Instagram and tweeted about it, reminding his followers to start submitting their films to be curated through Everybody Digital’s website.

Short filmmakers are neglected

Allen said the idea came from his own frustration and heartbreak. As a short filmmaker himself, he was having a hard time deciding on what to do with the works after the production stage.

The 33-year-old actor told Backstage that the key purpose of Everybody Digital was “expanding the viewership and audience for these filmmakers.” There was practically no life after Short Film—no clear distribution channel, and no film festivals to enter. “I believe it’s one of the most overlooked in the entertainment industry,” Allen said. He compared the app to “the short-form version of Netflix."

Short filmmaking takes a special skill and a different type of eye. According to Allen, to tell a story in five minutes rather than 145 minutes takes “a special filmmaker." With Everybody Digital, filmmakers are connected to a library of licensed, award-winning films around the globe. Other than working in the lab to fine-tune his latest digital creation and acting in films, Allen has his hands on a number of companies, including Get It Done Records, Only Son Productions, and his clothing brand Vineyards Phinest.

He has a foundation called Demo Nerds, which provides acting and film camps for children.

Entering sacrificial grounds

Netflix and Hulu are two companies catering web series to an internet audience, going beyond cable and providing opportunities to independent content creators. The two are known to be screening various types of films, including short films–from documentaries, comedy, and original programming.

Now YouTube TV has also launched. So short films do stand a chance on the web, but short filmmakers need not stay on sacrificial grounds the way they operate today. “Understand that it’s a business,” Allen explained. With Everybody Digital, his team is hunting for great production, great storytelling, and phenomenal acting.
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