Jeff Bezos, CEO of technology group Amazon, has declared high ambitions for his company's nascent film studio. "We want to win an Oscar," he told Die Welt. "Amazon has already won Golden Globes and Emmys. Our current target is to produce 16 home movies a year."

Investment in original content at Amazon has increased over the past couple of years with impressive returns. As well as high-profile series such as Transparent (which has won five Emmys), Amazon has recently signed on directors who traditionally concentrate on the big screen. Ridley Scott produced controversial series The Man in the High Castle, while Woody Allen last year agreed to make a six-part TV show for the outfit – though at Cannes in May, the director called his decision to do so "a catastrophic mistake".

December saw the US release – both in cinemas and streaming online – of Amazon's first major feature film: Chi-Raq, a gang violence satire by Spike Lee. The end-of-year scheduling is a direct attempt to position the film as an awards contender.

In the interview, Bezos alluded to the reputation Amazon – as well as Netflix – has swiftly earned within the industry as an employer who grants greater creative leeway to film-makers than traditional studios.

"I want to offer masters like Spike Lee or Woody Allen a new platform," he said. With such experts behind the cameras, Bezos continued, it only makes sense to "grant a lot of freedom".