Creator-focused studio pocket.watch is moving into creator-led feature films, starting with distribution of “Reef to Ridge,” the first feature from Brave Wilderness wildlife filmmaker Mark Vins, per Deadline.

Pocket.watch partnered with Vins’ label, Brave Wilderness, to handle distribution after the film premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival as part of the festival’s first-ever Creator Festival. Pocket.watch is now seeking a premium streaming home for the feature documentary and said more creator-led feature deals are in the works. The documentary is also slated for release on YouTube, with pocket.watch handling distribution across other platforms.

“Creators have built extraordinary relationships with their audiences, and there is a real opportunity to bring that connection to feature films,” said Chris M. Williams, founder and CEO of pocket.watch. “Mark Vins and his team have made a visually striking, cinematic film with the ambition and scale to reach well beyond their established fanbase. We’re bringing our distribution expertise and platform partnerships to that opportunity, with more creator-led film announcements to come.”

“Reef to Ridge” follows an expedition across the Galápagos, from beneath the ocean to the islands’ volcanic peaks. According to Deadline, Vins was given access to some of the most protected areas in the Galápagos, including the summit of its tallest volcano.

“We made ‘Reef to Ridge’ to take audiences into places they may never see for themselves and give them a reason to care about the wildlife that lives there,” Vins said. “Seeing audiences respond in Toronto was a powerful reminder of what these stories can do on a bigger canvas. Pocket.watch understands the community we’ve built through Brave Wilderness and shares our ambition to bring this film to new audiences.”

The film arrives with an established audience behind it. The “Brave Wilderness” YouTube channel has more than 21.6 million subscribers and has generated more than 6 billion views. Its series “Brave Wilderness: Creator Essentials,” which features Vins and Coyote Peterson in up-close wildlife encounters, streams on Hulu and Paramount+ in the U.S.

Pocket.watch already distributes shows across a wide range of streaming services and digital platforms. The “Reef to Ridge” deal marks its first step into features.

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