British film The Plague has become only the second UK feature to make its debut on the internet.
The picture, directed by 23-year-old Greg Hall, has won the support of Oscar nominated film-maker Mike Leigh.
The film's "ticket price" for internet users is £4, entitling viewers to an unlimited number of plays.
The Plague, which was made in three weeks with a budget of £3,500, is being taken to the Cannes Film Festival which begins on 11 May.
Snapshot
Digital film channel itsallelectric.com chose The Plague to launch a new online service for independent feature films.
Films that are not released and disappear without trace after a few festival screenings are being targeted in the initiative.
Neil Bedwell, co-founder of itsallelectric.com, will be writing a web log from the Cannes Film Festival for the BBC News website, where he will be promoting The Plague and other films.
The Plague is described as a "modern day multicultural snapshot of urban life", told through the eyes of four friends.
The three-week shoot was followed by eight months of editing, some of which was done through the night.
Film-maker Hall said the film's editor slept on his floor for three months during the process.
He added that making the film was "the most intense and insane thing I have ever done".
He applauded the support of Mike Leigh, whose most recent success was the Oscar-nominated Vera Drake.
The director has called the film "very alive and very much a movie".
The film won Hall a prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the first Katrin Cartledge Foundation Bursary, founded in honour of the actress who died in 2002 at the age of 41.
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