Frequently Asked Questions
We are a movement that happens to also be a streaming service. Our passion is to bring family-centered entertainment back to the forefront, to share amazing stories that don't rely on what has become pervasive in all programs today: cursing, nudity, sexuality and violence. We want to be your destination for entertainment that can be pure and free from these unnecessary elements, where a great story and great dialogue lead to smiles, laughs and a chance for the family to bond without feeling uncomfortable.
Here at FamCinema, we fully recognize that the competition certainly offers a wide-variety of programming for a monthly fee that can make watching tens of hours of programming rather inexpensive. But, that's why we are different in a great way! As parents, and as people who know that life needs to be lived away from a screen, we aren't hoping for you to spend hours glued to a screen, but maybe just a few hours per month. Study after study continues to show the seriously harmful effects of excessive screen-time for our kids, and those negative effects extend to adults too. At the same time, we do recognize and appreciate the occasional break to watch a great program! With that in mind, we created our model which allows you to choose what to watch and pay for only that movie or series, similar to a way that you might buy a ticket at a movie theater!
Yes, we know that this may lead you to spend a little more money every month if you decide to watch a lot of programming, but we also know that you are not the regular consumer. You are conscious of both your individual screen time, and that of your loved ones. Paying for what you want to see allows you to control your screen time, and that of your family, so as to avoid overuse and potential harm. Furthermore, there is another major added benefit to choosing and paying for what you want to watch - supporting the independent film making industry!
Did you know that most film makers who sell the rights to their film to a major, subscription-based streaming platform will only get a few cents, maybe up to twenty cents, per hour streamed of their film? It can make it almost impossible for a film maker to make any sort of profit to go on creating more films or programs. We think that downright sucks. We believe that our customers at FamCinema have the spirit of a patron - they want to support the arts and those who make art. They want to support those people who spend months of their lives to make programs that make us smile, laugh, cry and be inspired! As a result, when you choose to watch a program on FamCinema, you can rest assured that your purchase is going directly to support the people who made that program possible, and encourage them to keep making more! You are directly funding the creation of such programs, which ought to make you feel pretty good in the end!
Many film makers today have to compromise on what they are most passionate about in order to make a living. We think that this is wrong and we want to support the independent film making industry, and we think you do too!
FamCinema is a streaming box office platform that produces and presents family-oriented programs. All of our programming is either G or PG in terms of ratings. We welcome people from all backgrounds to share films and television programs that fit this mission, irrespective of your background.
The team that founded FamCinema, Ali Shehata and his family, are Muslim though. That is why the very first programs available on FamCinema had predominantly Muslim themes, though they were, and have been, enjoyed by people from all backgrounds. Ali was deeply affected as a child by the very negative stereotyping of Muslims in so many American programs. As an adult, and now a parent, he has spent literally hundreds of hours counseling Muslim youth in America who have also been traumatized by the very negative portrayals of Muslims in the media. How do you answer a child who asks you, "Am I a bad person?" because of the way they see Muslims portrayed in the media? This, therefore, was one of the great inspirations that Ali had in creating FamCinema - to allow Muslims to be represented in a more realistic way, with all the funny idiosyncracies of every other group of people on earth, so that young Muslims wouldn't have to go through that terrible experience ever again.
But guess what? Muslims are only one group of people who are so negatively stereotyped in the media! And this is our chance to change that!
Coming to this platform will allow you to see different groups of people the way they see themselves - no stereotypes allowed. We believe that this is not only very eye-opening, but it can go a long way to helping us all get along so much better than we do now. It will allow us to see the beauty in other groups, to appreciate them, and maybe, even to join them, if only for one evening. That is the value of your support of this platform - you allow so many people who are otherwise marginalized to flourish and shine. Your support makes the world a better, brighter and happier place and can go a long way towards making people who have long been rejected to feel accepted.
And if you are a film maker, we welcome you to share with us your work that aligns with this vision.
Easy! Just reach out to us at info@famcinema.com and tell us more about your program.
A few pointers though, we prefer to distribute programs exclusively rather than having a program that is also found on other services.
Also, at FamCinema, we take great pride in curating the very best programs for our viewers as we know that they may not spend a great deal of time in front of a screen. For that reason, we want to only select the very best programs from the most passionate content creators. As a result, we will only select a small number of the programs that are sent our way, similar to a way that an arthouse theater will only present select films.
Lastly, please also remember that our content is strictly family-oriented and subject to our approval before being showcased.