Terms of service

These terms are a contract between you and Cinema — the streaming platform at cinema.film where independent filmmakers publish their work and audiences pay them directly. By creating an account, watching, uploading, subscribing, or tipping, you accept them. If you don't accept them, don't use Cinema. The Privacy Policy and the Content Policy are part of this agreement.

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account, and at least 18 (with a verified birthdate) to watch mature-rated films. Give us accurate information — including your date of birth, which powers the age gate — and keep your sign-in credentials to yourself. You're responsible for what happens under your account. If you sign in with Google or Apple, their terms also govern that sign-in method. One person per account; don't sell, rent, or share it.

Marquee — free

Every public film, with a few short ads. No card required, ever.

House — $9.99/month

The same catalog, ad-free, in the best quality we can deliver, with offline downloads where available. Renews monthly. Cancel any time from Settings — you keep House until the end of the paid period. First-time subscribers can request a full refund within 7 days of first payment.

Patron tiers & tips

You can subscribe to a creator's patron tiers or tip them directly. Patron subscriptions renew monthly and cancel the same way as House. Tips are voluntary, final, and go to the creator — Cinema takes nothing on tips.

Price changes

If a price changes, we tell you at least 30 days before it affects you, and the new price only applies to your next renewal.

Your access is personal and non-commercial. Don't rebroadcast, publicly screen, re-stream, rip, or redistribute films from the platform — every stream here is somebody's work and somebody's income. Don't circumvent ads, paywalls, patron gates, age gates, or any technical protection. Availability of specific titles can change; creators control their own catalogs.

You keep ownership

Uploading gives Cinema no ownership of your film. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, encode, stream, generate thumbnails and previews from, and promote your content on the platform — that's the license required to run a streaming service, nothing more. It ends when you remove the content, except for transient copies and content already mid-delivery.

Your attestation

At publish you attest that you own or have licensed every right needed for the film (including music, footage, and performances), that it contains nothing illegal, and that the rating you selected is accurate. Misrepresenting any of this is grounds for removal and account termination.

Provenance

Declare the film's provenance honestly (human-made, AI-assisted, or AI-generated). AI-generated work carries a visible label.

Our discretion

We can remove content, reject uploads, or restrict distribution when content breaks these terms, the Content Policy, or the law. We aim for notice and a reason; safety-critical removals may come first, explanation second.

Revenue share

Ad revenue and patron subscriptions are shared between Cinema and creators at the rates published in the Studio at the time the revenue is earned. Tips pass through at 100%.

Split sheets

A creator may assign shares of a film's earnings to collaborators. Split sheets are capped at 100%, are the creator's responsibility to get right, and pay out only to recipients who complete identity and payout verification.

Payouts

Payouts require a verified payout account. We may withhold or reverse payouts connected to fraud, invalid traffic, chargebacks, or breaches of these terms.

Taxes

Creators are responsible for their own taxes. We provide the documents the law requires of us.

Don't break the law, impersonate others, harass anyone, upload malware, scrape the catalog, probe or overload our infrastructure, buy or sell engagement, manipulate view counts or ratings, or use another person's payment details without authority. Don't access the service by any means other than the interfaces we provide.

If you believe content on Cinema infringes your copyright, send a takedown notice to legal@cinema.film with the work, the location, your contact details, and a good-faith statement — the elements of a DMCA notice. We remove infringing content, forward counter-notices as the law provides, and terminate repeat infringers.

You can delete your account whenever you like from Settings; paid periods already started aren't refunded except as stated in Section III. We can suspend or terminate accounts that break this agreement, with notice where practical. Sections that by their nature survive — ownership, licenses for already-delivered content, liability limits, and dispute terms — survive termination.

Cinema is provided as is. We don't promise uninterrupted service, that any film stays available, or any particular level of creator earnings. To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid Cinema in the 12 months before the claim arose (or $50 if you paid nothing). Nothing here limits liability that can't legally be limited.

We'll update these terms as the platform grows. For material changes we give at least 14 days' notice by email or an in-product banner before they take effect. Using Cinema after the effective date means you accept the new terms; if you don't, close your account before then.

Questions about these terms: legal@cinema.film. General help: the help desk.