ABSTRACT
This chapter's aim, to consider how power is shifting between traditional and new media gatekeepers, is pertinent to all discussions of World Cinema because distribution is often the key to dictating which films are able to circulate around the globe and which are not. It argues that this is not in fact the case, because first, while old gatekeepers might be withering, new intermediaries with considerable levels of influence are gaining in prominence. Second, while further research is needed in this area, existing evidence would seem to suggest that the sort of content circulated within pirate networks tends to mirror the slant towards the mainstream within formal distribution channels. Finally, this mirroring would imply that while distribution channels have become more varied and dispersed, formal distributors are still able to exert considerable influence as they do, for the time being at least, still have considerable sway over how both production and marketing functions within the global film business.
