Rap fans get digital preview of West Coast Theory

An 18 minute chunk of Felix Teissier and Maxine Giffard’s film will be released online over a week in June through via Pumit, a new service that allows secure downloading and file sharing without breaking copyright law. The campaign is sponsored by fashion label Agnes B.

Theory producer Emmanuel Prevost told ScreenDaily that the first ten minutes of the film will be available on June 10 with about a minute added each day until June 18, when it is released on DVD. It will be available in its entirety online later in the summer.

The film is a “making of” about the rap world including artists such as will.i.am, Xzibit and Snoop Dogg. Prevost produced West Coast Theory via his Avalanche Productions in association with Vingtième Heure.

Prevost said the decision to release it online as well on DVD was an attempt to erase the stigma of direct-to-DVD releases. He said: “We feel that a video release is best because it’s the best route to young audiences and especially our target of hip hop fans. With Pumit, instead of getting pirated, this allows us to really build buzz in a totally secure way.”