Welsh independent sci-fi film Expiry, which has found favour among post-pandemic audiences with its relatable story of a married couple prevented from touching by a ruling authority, has secured distribution throughout the entire African continent via the innovative new platform WaChing, headquartered in South Africa.

The film, shot in and around Cardiff and Newport in South Wales, has been selected for multiple film festivals worldwide and celebrated a win at the Global Music Awards for its soundtrack by multi-hyphenate creative Tom Gatley of TG Films in Carmarthenshire. Expiry has already been distributed in the US and Canada and recently launched in the UK on Prime Video – now the film will
become available in South Africa via WaChing, expanding to all 52 African territories as the WaChing platform rolls out across the Continent in the coming years.

Launched in December 2022, WaChing empowers content creators to monetise their work by distributing content offline via a free app. The WaChing app enables users to earn money by sharing content offline without the need for subscription fees and costly mobile data plans. WaChing is an ideal platform for the African continent, where 70% of the consumer market exists offline without the means to afford data, banking costs, or monthly streaming subscriptions.

The deal was brokered between Seraphim Pictures in South Wales and WaChing in South Africa via the online content marketplace Vuulr.com based in Singapore. Seraphim Pictures’ Company Director

Daniel Lyddon said of the deal:

“Seraphim Pictures partnered with Vuulr in 2021 to launch a branded sales platform via the company website. The WaChing deal is the first deal closed through this partnership, with more to be announced before the end of the year. What’s interesting about this deal in particular is that one of the themes of Expiry is how wearable tech can restrict our lives, whereas WaChing is a real-life example of how mobile tech can actually enhance film distribution in a way that hasn’t been available to us before.”

Tom Gatley, the film’s screenwriter, director and composer said of the deal:

“Both myself and everyone involved in Expiry are super excited to make this deal with WaChing, which will see Expiry released all across the continent of Africa. Not only does this bring our feature film to new audiences, but they also provide easier access to anyone who can’t get to a cinema or stream directly. I am therefore proud for us to partner with such a company who clearly have a good vision for film and its future.”

Sean Else, Creative Director at WaChing, added:

“We are extremely excited to share this great sci-fi film with our African audiences who can now download this film on WaChing without having to use costly data while at the same time empowering themselves and the filmmakers financially by using the app to not only view and download the film offline, but by also becoming distributors of the film within their own communities. 70% of the African population is offline and most people live on less than one dollar a day, so we are extremely grateful and excited to partner with Seraphim Pictures and the very talented creative team behind EXPIRY to bring such great entertainment to a hungry and untapped audience.”