Withoutabox was a website founded in January 2000 by David Straus, Joe Neulight which allowed independent filmmakers to self-distribute their films.
This allowed festivals to market their event to over 400,000 active filmmakers already on the Withoutabox platform, accept submission fees from them electronically, and automatically notify filmmakers for acceptance into their event.
Other services included: streaming on the Internet via IMDb, and selling DVDs and video-on-demand downloads on Amazon.com via CreateSpace.
[7][8] Withoutabox has attracted criticism in the years following its takeover in 2008 by IMDB, owned in turn by Amazon.
Some filmmakers and festivals alike have accused the company of excessive charges, uncompetitive practices, outdated technology and the usual claims of aggressive litigation leveled at Amazon.