IMDb won’t list The Tunnel

The Internet Movie Database is refusing to list the Australian independent production The Tunnel.

“Basically, we can’t get listed – they keep knocking us back, despite having addressed all their requests. We’re just frustrated that we can’t get listed, when films with less qualification have been listed,” producer Enzo Tedeschi told Encore.

Tedeschi has published a letter addressing the situation:

To The Person In Charge Of New Title Addition Reviews,

We are writing to you regarding our feature film project The Tunnel.

We here at The Tunnel production team, as well as our stakeholders and thousands of fans, have been frustrated over the last few months at IMDB.com’s consistent refusal to list our project. We have repeatedly addressed IMDb’s requests for further qualifying information, as well as puzzling requests for proof of the existence of our production.

Time and time again we are refused a listing on your database, because of what we feel is an unfair judgment based on our online distribution model via torrents. We seek to present our case one more time, putting forward the requirements sought by the IMDb. Also, to seek answers not just for us as producers, but for the thousands of fans and the independent filmmaking community at large, looking to use the Internet to find new ways to connect with an audience.

While we completely understand and respect the need for IMDb.com to screen all submissions in order to maintain an accurate database that is not filled with fake or erroneous listings, we feel that this screening process has failed this time.

The Tunnel movie has been submitted and resubmitted by either ourselves, or other members of our cast and crew on at least 5 occasions as ‘The Tunnel Movie’ and also as “The Tunnel”. There may be more submissions we are unaware of. Some have been via the website Title Addition Page, others via your IMDb Pro service. Each time, a reason has been given for declining our submission, and each time, the reason has been addressed appropriately via resubmission to no avail.

Tedeschi’s letter offers a detailed account of his interaction with the film website. He believes the rejection might be due to the fact that The Tunnel will be distributed through BitTorrent – a medium commonly used for illegal sharing of music and films.

Update: IMDb’s head of public relations and marketing Emily Glassman has dismissed claims that the film’s digital distribution plans are the reason why The Tunnel has been denied listing, and announced that the case will be reviewed by IMDb editors.