WikiFlix is built as a public film synthesis warehouse, inspired by Netflix's content arrangement. The platform is maintained by the Wikipedia-related volunteer community, exploiting footage from Wikimedia Commons, Internet archive and YouTube. In total, WikiFlix currently archives more than 4,000 films.
The films on WikiFlix are all in the public sector, meaning their copyright has expired or has never been protected. Thanks to that, the content can be shared and streamed legally. Most of the films are old works, mainly produced from the first half of the 20th century, including films familiar to many generations of audiences such as: It's a Wonderful Life, nosferatu or Wings - the first film to win the Oscar for Best Drama.
In addition to the well-known works, WikiFlix also compiles many less popular films of many different genres. Some content is evaluated by the community as worth exploring, even though it is not in the current popular entertainment film genre.
WikiFlix has been active for a long time but has only recently become widely known, after appearing in a TikTok video by Annie Rauwerda - creator of the content Depths of Wikipedia. This video has attracted the attention of social media users for the public film studio that WikiFlix is exploiting.
According to the website introduction, films displayed on the homepage are often works with many links to Wikipedia, making it easy for viewers to look up related information. The platform also applies a content control mechanism, including an exclusion list to limit films with extreme propaganda, even though they are still valid in the research context.
Due to its nature as a public film archive, the content on WikiFlix is not aimed at competing with commercial online film platforms. Instead, the platform offers a free movie viewing option, focusing on older, less-distributed cinematic works on the market today.
