Netflix Still Wants to Be ‘Aggressive’ with Film Acquisitions Out of Festivals

In the two years since Dan Lin was named the film chief at Netflix, he has greenlit 88 films — and counting — and the streamer this year is on pace to release seven movies a month, including four different event films each year, like Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia,” which is on the way this Thanksgiving.

That’s a lot of movies, and with Netflix increasingly looking to build out content with its own library of stuff made in-house, it begs the question whether Netflix is still the major acquisitions player it used to be. Once upon a time, when Netflix was still a burgeoning streamer with deep pockets, they were the ones setting the pace on the indie film markets at Sundance, Cannes, and TIFF, scooping up multiple titles — and doing so for record amounts.

At a press event in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 18, Lin said he’s still looking to…