Grain Media

What Grain Media does

Grain Media is a London-based, privately-held film production company founded in 2006 by director Orlando von Einsiedel and Jon Drever, operating from a small headquarters in London SE4. The company produces long-form feature documentaries, broadcast and streaming television series, and branded/commercial content, with a stated track record of 150+ international awards including two Academy Awards, two Emmys, a BAFTA, a Peabody, a Grierson, IDA Awards, a BIFA, and a duPont-Columbia Award. Its three core revenue streams are (1) feature documentary production for theatrical and streaming release (titles include Virunga, The White Helmets, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone, Evelyn, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, and The Lost Children), (2) TV series and broadcast documentaries for platforms including Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera, and (3) branded content and commercials for clients including Google, Samsung, Nike, WaterAid, UNHCR, and the United Nations.

The business operates as a professional services production house with bespoke, project-based pricing negotiated with each commissioning platform; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution flows through Netflix (primary streaming partner), BBC Two/iPlayer, National Geographic, MSNBC/Peacock, theatrical partners Variance Films (US) and Dogwoof (UK/Ireland and international sales), and digital platforms such as WaterBear, Insight TV, and 1091 Distribution. Go-to-market relies on festival premieres (Telluride, Tribeca, DOCNYC, Hot Docs) to generate awards momentum and downstream distribution deals, complemented by viral social media traction — most notably Buy Now! achieving 1.2 billion TikTok impressions in 2024.

Grain also operates Grace Labs, an Emmy-winning, wholly-owned development hub funded by philanthropist Jorge Villon that develops socially-conscious non-fiction and scripted projects accompanied by bespoke impact campaigns in partnership with organizations including Think-Film, RESTOR.ECO, Nobel Prize Outreach, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Earth Percent. The company is founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investors, underwent a restructuring with redundancies in 2024 amid broader documentary-industry headwinds, and counts 11-50 employees per public classification.

Name

Grain Media

Legal name

Grain Media Limited

Website

https://grainmedia.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grain Media is a London-based, two-time Academy Award-winning film production company founded in 2006 that produces feature documentaries, broadcast TV series, and branded content for streaming platforms, broadcasters, and global brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Documentary Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO) (MPADADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Production (Video, Design, Copy, Studio) (BPAFAAAF)

Keywords

• Documentary production
• Feature film production
• Branded content production
• Social impact films
• Broadcast documentary series

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Documentary and Feature Film Production: Grain Media produces documentaries and feature films for theatrical release and streaming platforms. Revenue comes from production deals with Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, and other broadcasters. The company has demonstrated strong performance with Netflix films reaching global Top Ten rankings.
2. Branded Content and Commercials: Production of commercials and branded content for corporate clients including Google, Samsung, Nike, New Balance, WaterAid, United Nations, UNHCR, Tag Heuer, and Amnesty International. This includes TV commercials, digital campaigns, and branded documentary content.
3. Series Production: Production of documentary series for streaming platforms and broadcasters, including Netflix series like Heart of Invictus and I'm With The Band: Nasty Cherry, as well as BBC factual series.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grain Media is a London-based production company that develops, produces, and distributes documentary feature films, documentary series for broadcasters and streaming platforms, and branded content/commercials for global brands and NGOs. It commissions projects led by founder Orlando von Einsiedel and operates Grace Labs, an internal development hub that pairs socially-driven films with bespoke impact campaigns. Revenue is generated through production fees from streaming platforms (notably Netflix), broadcasters (BBC, National Geographic, MSNBC), and corporate/NGO branded content clients.

Product overview

Grain Media is a London-based two-time Academy Award-winning film production company co-founded by director Orlando von Einsiedel. The company operates across three core product lines: (1) Feature Documentaries — long-form films produced for theatrical and streaming release, including award-winning titles such as The White Helmets, Virunga, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), Evelyn, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, The Lost Children, and The Cycle of Love; (2) TV Series and Broadcast Documentaries — prime-time documentary series and singles for major broadcasters including Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, Al Jazeera, and MSNBC, such as Heart of Invictus, Convergence: Courage in a Crisis, Tigers: Hunting The Traffickers, and the Nobel Peace Prize Series; and (3) Branded Content and Commercials — campaigns for clients including Google, Samsung, Nike, WaterAid, the United Nations, UNHCR, and Amnesty International. The company also operates Grace Labs, an Emmy-winning social-purpose development hub that develops and champions films addressing urgent global social issues, accompanied by bespoke social impact campaigns. Projects are distributed globally through Netflix, BBC, Peacock, Mubi, WaterBear, Insight TV, and FIFA+, among other platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Feature Documentaries Long-form documentary films produced for theatrical release and streaming platforms, covering urgent social, environmental, and human-interest stories with a focus on impact-driven storytelling. Intended for streaming platforms (Netflix, BBC iPlayer) and theatrical release.
• TV Series and Broadcast Documentaries Prime-time documentary series and singles produced for major broadcasters and streaming services including Netflix, BBC, National Geographic, Al Jazeera English, and MSNBC.
• Branded Content and Commercials Brand-focused campaigns and television/cinema commercials produced for clients such as Google, Samsung, Nike, WaterAid, the United Nations, UNHCR, and Amnesty International. Intended for global brands, NGOs, and international organizations seeking high-production-value branded storytelling.
• Grace Labs (development hub) Emmy-winning development hub within Grain Media that develops world-class innovative non-fiction and scripted films and series driven toward catalysing positive social, cultural, and political change. Accompanies major projects with bespoke social impact campaigns.
• Bloodlines, Mississippi Documentary feature about a medical system stacked against residents of America's Diabetes Belt, following Dr. Foluso Fakorede. Produced for Nobel Prize Outreach.
• Nobel Prize for Medicine Series (Life Invisible, Bloodlines Mississippi, Shadows in Sunlight) Three documentary films (Life Invisible, Bloodlines Mississippi, Shadows in Sunlight) produced in collaboration with Nobel Prize Outreach, each highlighting Nobel Prize-winning scientific discoveries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150+ international film, television and advertising awards including two Academy Awards, two EMMYs, BAFTA, Peabody, Grierson, IDA Awards, BIFA and duPont-Columbia Award
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Variance FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 May 2026U.S. theatrical distribution partner for The Cycle of Love, releasing the film in August. Deal brokered between Variance's Dylan Marchetti and Ryan Harrington on behalf of BD4.
• DogwoofcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 February 2026International sales and UK/Ireland theatrical distribution partner for The Cycle of Love. Dogwoof will release in UK and Ireland in September and has struck international deals with Madman (Australia/NZ), Filmwelt (Germany/Austria), Praesens (Switzerland), Filmin (Spain/Portugal), and Bantam (Benelux).
• Purple Pebble PicturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExecutive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas through her production company Purple Pebble Pictures. Chopra Jonas serves as executive producer on The Cycle of Love.
• Kalabati PicturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish production company co-producing The Cycle of Love. Also produced Cycling for Love documentary with Grain Media.
• BD4majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for The Cycle of Love. Ryan Harrington brokered U.S. distribution deal on behalf of BD4.
• Think-FilmmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact campaign partner for The Cycle of Love, developing campaign to launch with theatrical release. Think-Film previously worked on Oscar-winning Navalny and Oscar-nominated Black Box Diaries.
• Caracol TelevisiónmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerColombian television network collaborating on The Lost Children documentary in partnership with Grain Media, Imagine Documentaries, Teletigre, and One Day's Walk.
• Imagine DocumentariesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for The Lost Children documentary collaboration.
• Nobel Prize OutreachcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration producing documentary films celebrating Nobel Prize-winning discoveries. Series includes Nobel Peace Prize films and Nobel Prize for Medicine films (Life Invisible, Bloodlines Mississippi, Shadows in Sunlight). Partnership includes Nobel Museum exhibition.
• NetflixcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary streaming distribution partner for major documentary releases including Virunga, The Lost Children, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, Evelyn, and Heart of Invictus docuseries with Archewell Productions.
• WaterBearminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming platform partner for Into Dust documentary launch, available on Apple TV and Roku devices.
• Appian WaymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeonardo DiCaprio's production company co-producing Virunga and From Devil's Breath documentaries with Grain Media.
• RidebackmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for The Lost Children and Nobel Prize documentary films. Rideback is Ryan洪an producer Dan Cogan's company.
• National Geographic Documentary FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPresented National Geographic Documentary Films releases including Lost and Found. Long-standing partnership for documentary distribution.
• Together FilmsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorldwide sales distribution partner for The Walk documentary from director Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland).
• 1091 DistributionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorU.S. and Canada digital distribution partner for Seahorse documentary across Google Play, Amazon, and iTunes.
• Time StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producer of From Devil's Breath as part of The Turning Point documentary series with MSNBC Films, Day Zero Productions, Sugar23 and P&G Studios.
• BBCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK commissioning broadcaster for documentaries including Death in Bollywood, Tigers: Hunting The Traffickers, The Psychedelic Drug Trial. Content broadcast on BBC Two and available on BBC iPlayer.
• Archewell ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrince Harry and Meghan Markle's production company partnering with Grain Media on Heart of Invictus docuseries for Netflix. Archewell pact with Netflix covers documentaries, feature films, scripted TV series and children's programming.
• RESTOR.ECOmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact campaign platform for From Devil's Breath - global hub for restoration movement that evolved alongside the film. Nominated for Earthshot prize and reached 120,000+ restoration projects post-release.
• Earth PercentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable organization receiving portion of streaming proceeds from Bastille's music related to From Devil's Breath, supporting ecosystem restoration projects.
• Luminant MediamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Scouts Honor documentary with Grain Media and Insight TWI.
• Violet FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by Joanna Natasegara, co-director of Virunga and The White Helmets. Strategic production partner for award-winning documentary projects.
• Grace LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmmy-winning development hub within Grain Media devoted to urgent social issues. Funded by philanthropist Jorge Villon. Expands to become home for all socially-conscious filmmaking with commercial positioning strategy.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nutopia: Premium scripted and unscripted documentary production company where Grain's Creative Director Chloe Leland previously served as Creative Director, making it a direct talent-and-output comparable in the high-end documentary space.
• Passion Pictures: Long-established UK documentary and feature production company behind award-winning titles (Senna, Searching for Sugar Man), with adjacent branded and impact content work — a direct comparable for Grain's documentary-and-branded pipeline.
• Pulse Films: London-based independent film and content production company with overlapping documentary, TV series and branded content work, including feature docs and commercial campaigns for global brands.
• Imagine Documentaries: Impact-focused documentary division of Imagine Entertainment, co-production partner on The Lost Children and run by Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein; directly comparable as a US-leaning premium documentary shop with similar slate economics.
• Violet Films: Documentary production company founded by Joanna Natasegara, co-director of Virunga and The White Helmets, and a long-standing strategic production partner of Grain Media — directly comparable on premium impact-driven documentary slate.
• Concordia Studio: Impact-focused documentary production company behind An Inconvenient Truth, Fed Up and similar socially-driven films; comparable to Grace Labs in pairing premium documentary production with structured impact campaigns and foundation support.
• Dogwoof: UK-based documentary distributor and sales agent that has theatrically released Grain titles (The Cycle of Love), and increasingly develops and produces documentaries — a directly comparable indie documentary business in the same London ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Studios Documentary Unit: In-house commissioning/production arm of the BBC, a key commissioning counterparty for Grain; serves as the broad incumbent benchmark on prestige factual commissioning terms, slate volume and broadcaster economics.
• Vice Studios: Vice's documentary and content production arm producing premium docs and series for streamers and broadcasters — broad incumbent with overlapping subject matter (social issues, conflict, current affairs) and similar distribution relationships.
• A24: Independent film and television company with a growing prestige documentary slate; broad incumbent comparable on indie film economics, awards positioning and streamer relationships even though its core is narrative film.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grainmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/grainmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grain-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grain Media