Roco Films

What Roco Films does

Roco Films is a privately held global documentary distribution agency founded in 2000 by Annie Roney and headquartered in New York (with a listed presence in Sausalito). The company operates as a boutique sales agent for independent documentary filmmakers, curating a catalog of 389 films that includes Oscar winners and nominees such as Born Into Brothels, RBG, How to Survive a Plague, Life Animated, and Virunga. Its core service is acting as a sales agent — developing custom distribution strategies, negotiating licensing deals with global media buyers, and returning quarterly royalties to filmmakers. Adjacent product lines include Educational & Community Screenings (licensing for classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, and non-profits via the ROCO Educational subsidiary), Impact Campaigns for organizations seeking documentary-driven awareness, Digital distribution to major VOD platforms (Netflix, HBO, PBS, Amazon, Apple TV+), and Live Events production for national online and in-person screening experiences.

The company's underlying technology stack includes a Virtual Screening Platform offering standardized ($50) and premium ($95) tiers with custom secure links, branded screening pages, video introductions, resource embedding, and participation analytics. ROCO also co-founded Film Platform, a subscription streaming service for colleges and universities that embeds the catalog into institutional classroom and research workflows. Distribution is executed through direct relationships with major streamers and broadcasters globally, supplemented by ProQuest for educational research databases and Magnolia Pictures for theatrical/digital releases.

Roco Films monetizes through a diversified mix of licensing royalties from global sales agency deals, one-time educational and community screening licenses, per-event virtual screening fees, DVD sales with classroom-sharing permissions, subscription revenue via Film Platform, and professional services fees from impact campaigns. The customer base spans documentary filmmakers (primary supply side), educational institutions (primary demand side for classroom and research use), streaming platforms and broadcasters (enterprise licensing buyers), and community organizations and non-profits (awareness-campaign buyers). The company operates with 1–10 employees, has received no disclosed outside funding, and is founder-controlled, with Annie Roney serving as Founder and CEO.

Name

Roco Films

Legal name

Roco Films

Website

https://rocofilms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Roco Films is a privately held global documentary distribution agency that curates a 389-film catalog and acts as sales agent for independent filmmakers, licensing content to streamers, broadcasters, educational institutions, and community organizations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Distribution

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Non-Theatrical Distribution (Educational, Airlines, Cruise, Community) (MPADAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Transactional VOD Distribution (TVOD) (MPADAJAF), Theatrical Distribution (International) (MPADAJAB), Home Entertainment Distribution (Digital: TVOD/EST) (MPADAJAE)

Keywords

• Documentary distribution
• Film licensing
• Educational screenings
• Impact campaigns
• Global sales agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Sausalito

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Global Sales Agency: ROCO Films develops custom distribution strategies and release plans aligned with filmmakers' global distribution goals for revenue, audience reach, and impact. The company returns quarterly royalties to filmmakers from licensing revenues.
2. Educational Licensing: Licensing documentaries for screening in educational and community settings including auditoriums, classrooms, libraries, non-profits and businesses
3. Virtual Screening Fees: Standard and premium virtual screening room setups with fees ranging from $50-$95 per screening event
4. DVD Sales: Physical DVD distribution including classroom-use licenses with sharing permissions
5. Streaming Subscriptions: Ongoing streaming access for institutions through Film Platform partnership (3-5 business day setup)
6. Impact Campaigns: Collaborative campaigns with film teams and community partners to build documentary impact and awareness for organizations and companies

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Roco Films is a global documentary distribution agency that represents independent filmmakers in licensing their films across international territories and multiple channels, including VOD platforms, broadcasters, educational institutions, community organizations, and live event venues. The company develops custom distribution strategies, negotiates platform and broadcaster deals, manages impact campaigns, produces national live screening events, and operates a virtual screening platform for hosted community screenings, returning quarterly royalties to filmmakers.

Product overview

Roco Films operates as a global documentary distribution company offering a portfolio of interconnected services. The core offerings include the Global Sales Agency for custom distribution strategies, Educational & Community Screenings for licensing in institutional settings, Impact campaigns for social action, Digital distribution to VOD platforms, and Live Events for national screenings with Q&A. The company maintains a catalog of 389+ documentary films available for licensing, with services available for screening rights, international rights, digital rights, and sponsored screening licenses. Roco Voices provides speaker booking through a partner platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ROCO Educational: A division focused on educational and community film distribution, licensing documentaries for classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, non-profits, and businesses.

Products and services

• Global Sales Agency Custom distribution strategy and release plan development service aligned with filmmakers' global distribution goals for revenue, audience reach, and impact; returns quarterly royalties to filmmakers from licensing revenues.
• Educational & Community Screenings Licensing service for documentaries in community settings including auditoriums, classrooms, libraries, non-profits, and businesses, with virtual and in-person screening options.
• Impact Campaigns Campaign development services that work with organizations, companies, film teams, and community partners to expand reach and inspire action around social issues and ideas, complementing distribution and audience engagement.
• Digital Distribution (VOD) Direct relationships and content preparation service for release on major Video On Demand (VOD) platforms, presenting films to digital platforms directly.
• Live Events National live event production (online or in-person) featuring film screenings with Q&A sessions in community settings, complementing streaming demand and impact campaigns.
• Roco Voices Speaker booking and engagement platform connecting filmmakers with venues and audiences for speaking events and panel discussions.
• Film Licensing Catalog Curated collection of 389+ documentary films available for licensing and distribution across multiple territories and rights categories, including screening rights, international rights, digital rights, and sponsored screening licenses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 consecutive years of Oscar nominations for ROCO distributed films
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• NetflixcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor streaming platform partner distributing ROCO Films documentary content to global subscribers
• HBOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPremium cable network partner for documentary distribution through HBO and HBO Max platforms
• PBScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic broadcasting partner for documentary distribution on PBS platforms
• Amazon Prime VideocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming platform partner distributing documentary content through Amazon Prime Video
• Apple TV+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming platform partner for documentary content distribution on Apple TV+
• Sundance InstitutecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFilm festival and distribution partner for independent documentary content
• BBCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBritish Broadcasting Corporation partner for international documentary distribution
• IFCmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndependent Film Channel partner for documentary distribution
• Film PlatformcoreTechnology or IntegrationROCO co-founded Film Platform, a global subscription streaming service for colleges and universities allowing students and faculty to actively use documentaries in the classroom and for research
• Participant MediamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for impact-driven documentary content and distribution
• Impact PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact-focused documentary financing and distribution partner
• ARTEmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean public channel partner for international documentary distribution
• ProQuestmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEducational research database partner providing documentary content to academic institutions
• CinereachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilm financing and grants organization supporting independent documentary projects
• Magnolia PicturesmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner for theatrical and digital documentary releases

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Film Sales Company: NYC-based independent film and documentary sales agent representing festival documentaries for global rights sales. Direct competitor to Roco in the documentary sales-agency category serving filmmakers on festival-to-platform deals.
• Dogwoof: Leading UK-based global documentary sales and distribution company. Directly comparable as a boutique international documentary sales agent placing festival documentaries with streamers and broadcasters worldwide.
• Submarine Entertainment: NYC-based sales and distribution company focused on documentaries and independent feature films. Directly comparable as a boutique documentary sales agent with a curator-driven approach to film representation.
• Films Boutique: Berlin-based international sales agency handling arthouse and documentary films. Directly comparable as a sales agent placing festival documentaries with global VOD and theatrical buyers.
• Kino Lorber: US-based independent film distributor with a strong documentary and arthouse catalog across theatrical, home video, and digital. Overlaps directly with Roco in documentary distribution to US institutions and platforms.
• Abramorama: US-based film distribution company specializing in theatrical, digital, and event-cinema distribution of documentaries. Overlaps with Roco's theatrical/event live-experience distribution of documentaries.
• Gravitas Ventures: US-based independent film distribution company with a heavy documentary focus on transactional VOD, SVOD, and educational channels. Directly comparable as a digital-first documentary distributor.
• First Run Features: Long-established US independent film distributor with a large documentary catalog across theatrical and home video. Comparable as a long-running boutique indie/documentary distributor.

Broad incumbents

• Magnolia Pictures: US independent theatrical and home entertainment distributor with a broad indie and documentary slate. Listed as a Roco channel partner and represents a larger competitor across theatrical and digital distribution.
• Participant Media: Global impact-driven media company producing and distributing socially relevant films and series. Both a Roco strategic partner and broader peer in the impact-documentary ecosystem with meaningfully larger capital base and production capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ro-co-films
• Xx.com/rocofilms
• Facebookfacebook.com/roco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Roco Films