James R | On 23, Sep 2015

The Arms Drop will land on VOD in October following its premiere at Raindance.

The documentary, by award-winning director Andreas Koefoed (Ballroom Dancer) and Tobias Lindholm, the writer of A Hijacking, Borgen and The Hunt, tells the true story of the controversial 1995 Purulia Case.

Described by one journalist as “one of the biggest intelligence failures in the history of India”, the case involves one of the largest weapons drops in history. The film follows former British arms dealer Peter Bleach as he tries to find the agent who lied in court, resulting in his incarceration in jail for a crime he did not commit. On their word, Bleach was convicted of dropping 4 tons of weapons over West Bengal to start a civil war.

Bleach was indeed part of the arms drop, but as an MI5 informant trying to capture the mastermind behind it. When they dramatically escaped, Bleach was made the scapegoat.

The documentary is in competition at the Raindance Film Festival, which kicks off today, premiering on Sunday 27th September at 4.20pm and being shown again on Wednesday 30th September. The two screenings are followed by a digital release by Dogwoof on Monday 5th October. The film will be available to watch on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Dogwoof TV and other VOD sites.

It marks the latest in a long line of films to leap from festivals to digital platforms, with Film4 FrightFest launching a range of horrors into the streaming sphere in time for Halloween and Raindance boasting its own VOD platform, Raindance Releasing. The festival now also includes Raindance Web Fest, a weekend event dedicated to web series from around the world.

For more on The Arms Drop, including our review, watch this space. Until then, here’s a trailer and the poster:

 

 
For more on Raindance, head to the official festival website.
 

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