Last week, President Obama told bank executives that they have a duty to take "extraordinary" steps toward helping the U.S. economy emerge from the worst recession since the 1930s. As we rapidly approach the new year, our nation demands a modified system of financial oversight that includes new parameters to help prevent future financial crises and avoid the economic recession they spawn.
While we continue to take steps toward securing a more stable economy, the hardship that many Americans face each day remains a very tangible reality. In these hard times it makes sense that more than ever, free and accessible resources are tremendously valued by the American public. While we emerge from the recession and see our economy regain strength, SnagFilms will continue to expand our library and offer the highest quality of non-fiction films available.
With more than 1000 films under contract which anyone with a computer and a broadband connection can enjoy, we have also expanded our network of distribution partners this year to include Hulu, IMDb and FanCast among others. Our efforts to bring free content to the public continue to gain momentum each day with more than 1.5 billion web pageviews since
our launch last year. We have been featured on more than 55,000 websites and webpages and have premiered more than 33 films on SnagFilms either in partnership with a festival or exclusively. In addition, we have relaunched and expanded indieWIRE, which now features Anne Thompson, the Reel Geezers, and our newest blogger, the acclaimed film critic, Leonard Maltin.
As SnagFilms welcomes the new year, we will continue to focus on expanding our concept of filmanthropy - using our films as a vehicle for social change. In two instances during this past year, The Least of These and Return to Tarawa, broad distribution from SnagFilms helped catalyze government action - identifying and repatriating the remains of WWII fallen heroes, and the closing of a notorious family detention center.
As President Obama, Fed policymakers and our nation's largest businesses work on a "responsible way to help get our economy moving again," we can do our small part to help out by providing free resources for everyone to enjoy and use, anytime. In that spirit, please enjoy the most popular films from our library in 2009.