Studio 9 Films

What Studio 9 Films does

Studio 9 Films is a UK-based independent documentary film production company founded by award-winning filmmaker Fiona Lloyd-Davies in 2006. The company specializes in unscripted feature-length documentaries and current affairs programmes focused on war, conflict, and human rights, producing individual works such as The Grave (ITV Exposure, 2023), Ukraine: A City Under Siege (Al Jazeera, 2022), the Myanmar trilogy (Al Jazeera People and Power), The Trial of Anwar R (Al Jazeera, 2022), The Cost of Cobalt (Al Jazeera, 2021), Seeds of Hope (2013), and My Amazing Brain: Richard's War (BBC Two Horizon, 2016). Its catalogue spans conflict and human rights stories from Bosnia, Iraq, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Myanmar, and Ukraine. The company has no proprietary technology platform; its core "product" is editorial — investigative field access, long-term community embedding, and sensitive storytelling that broadcasters cannot easily replicate in-house.

The company operates a professional services, project-based revenue model. Revenue is generated primarily through production commissions from major international broadcasters including Al Jazeera English (People and Power strand), ITV (Exposure strand), BBC (Horizon, Newsnight, Africa Eye), and Channel 4 News. Pricing is individually negotiated per production and is not publicly disclosed. Some projects are co-funded by crisis reporting grants, notably the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (for The Cost of Cobalt), supplementing broadcast commissions and supporting investigation-heavy work. Ancillary distribution occurs through film festivals (Global Health Film Festival, One World Media Awards, The People's Film Festival New York), academic and institutional screenings (LSE Centre for Women Peace and Security, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Global Health Film), and video-on-demand platforms (YouTube, Al Jazeera website, Vimeo). The company is privately held, founder-owned, and operates with a small core team of 11–50 staff supplemented by freelance contractors.

Name

Studio 9 Films

Legal name

Studio 9 Films

Website

https://studio9films.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Studio 9 Films is a UK-based independent documentary production company founded by Fiona Lloyd-Davies in 2006, producing feature-length films on war, conflict, and human rights commissioned by major international broadcasters including Al Jazeera, ITV, BBC, and Channel 4.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Current affairs programming
• Conflict zone filmmaking
• Human rights documentaries
• Broadcast commissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Gravesend

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

Revenue model

1. Broadcast Commissions: Studio 9 Films produces commissioned documentary films for major international broadcasters including Al Jazeera, ITV, BBC, and Channel 4. Revenue is generated through production fees and licensing deals with these broadcasters.
2. Grant Support: Some productions receive support from crisis reporting organizations such as the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which helps fund documentary projects on global justice and human rights issues.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Studio 9 Films is an independent documentary film production company that produces unscripted feature-length documentaries and current affairs programmes focused on war, conflict, and human rights. The company secures commissions from major international broadcasters (Al Jazeera English's People and Power strand, ITV's Exposure strand, BBC, Channel 4 News, BBC Africa Eye) and partners with local media organizations to access conflict zones in Myanmar, Ukraine, Syria, DRC, Iraq, Pakistan, and Bosnia. Productions are funded through broadcast commissions and supplemented by grants from organizations such as the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Product overview

Studio 9 Films is a documentary film production company founded by award-winning filmmaker Fiona Lloyd-Davies, specializing in unscripted feature-length documentaries and current affairs programmes about war, conflict, and human rights. The company produces individual documentary films including The Grave, Ukraine: A City under Siege, The Trial of Anwar R, Myanmar: An Uneasy Alliance, Myanmar Army on the Ropes, The Cost of Cobalt, The Fighter & The Pimp, My Amazing Brain: Richard's War, Seeds of Hope, Justice in Action, and Redress: 20 Years. Productions are commissioned by major broadcasters including Al Jazeera English (People and Power), BBC, ITV (Exposure strand), and Channel 4 News. The company collaborates with international media organizations and local teams worldwide, from Myanmar to eastern Congo, bringing stories about global injustice and human rights abuses to global audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Myanmar Army on the Ropes Documentary following ethnic armed groups and People's Defense Force volunteers as they challenge Myanmar's military junta, gaining rare access to film with Karen and PDF forces. Commissioned for Al Jazeera English's People and Power strand.
• The Grave Feature documentary produced for ITV Exposure strand about the search for justice and accountability after a mass grave was discovered in a forest outside Izium, Ukraine following Russian occupation. Interweaves survivor accounts with access to Ukrainian investigators and secret service agents hunting Russian war crimes suspects.
• Ukraine: A City under Siege Documentary produced in collaboration with Kharkiv's Gwara Media, documenting life under fire through the lives of citizens during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Explores the resilience, determination, and unity of Kharkiv's residents.
• The Trial of Anwar R Two-part documentary series going behind-the-scenes of landmark Syrian war crimes case in Germany, where a high-level Syrian intelligence officer was tried for crimes against humanity including state-sponsored torture. Broadcast on Al Jazeera's People and Power strand.
• Myanmar: An Uneasy Alliance Documentary exploring whether pro-democracy activists and ethnic nationalists can join forces to overthrow Myanmar's brutal military regime. Produced for Al Jazeera English's People and Power strand. Rory Peck Awards 2021 Finalist.
• The Cost of Cobalt

Quantifiable outcome

• Licence to Kill film helped bring about a change in the law in Pakistan
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and historical.

• Gwara MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio 9 Films collaborates closely with Gwara Media, an international award-winning online media platform based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The partnership has produced multiple films including Ukraine: A City Under Siege, The Grave, and Myanmar Army on the Ropes. Gwara Media provides local access and production support in conflict zones, particularly Ukraine, enabling Studio 9 Films to produce content from regions inaccessible to international teams.
• Pulitzer Center on Crisis ReportingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting provided support for The Cost of Cobalt documentary investigating cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Center funds international reporting on underreported global issues.
• Global Health FilmsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for screening events and educational distribution of health-related documentaries. Global Health Film has hosted screenings of My Amazing Brain: Richard's War and Seeds of Hope with panel discussions featuring the filmmaker.
• LSE Centre for Women, Peace and SecuritysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for screening documentaries related to women, peace, and security. LSE hosted a screening of Under the Shadow (Seeds of Hope) with Q&A session with Director Fiona Lloyd-Davies.
• RedresssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced Redress: 20 Years documentary for Redress, a British-based international NGO seeking justice for torture survivors, marking their 20th anniversary.
• Hardcash ProductionssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobin Barty-King, Head of Production for Hardcash Productions, worked on The Grave for ITV's Exposure strand. Hardcash specializes in documentary and current affairs programming.
• Guardian FilmshistoricalStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership on the Baghdad Blogger series collaboration before Studio 9 Films was established in 2006.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hardcash Productions: UK independent documentary and current affairs producer, directly comparable to Studio 9 Films in scale and editorial focus. Has collaborated with Studio 9 on The Grave for ITV's Exposure strand, and produces current-affairs commissions for major UK broadcasters.
• Keo Films: UK-based independent production company specializing in documentaries and current affairs for major broadcasters including BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. Similar size, similar genre mix of international and human-rights storytelling, similar broadcast-commission revenue model.
• Quicksilver Media: UK independent documentary producer with a strong track record in international current affairs and investigative films for BBC, Channel 4, and Al Jazeera. Closely comparable in editorial positioning to Studio 9 Films.
• Passion Pictures: Award-winning UK documentary production company producing feature docs and series for international broadcasters and streamers. Comparable in producing premium international documentary content, though typically larger and more Oscar-leaning than Studio 9 Films.
• Dogwoof: UK-based documentary sales, distribution, and production company specializing in award-winning feature documentaries. Operates in the same documentary ecosystem as Studio 9 Films and serves many of the same broadcasters and festivals.
• Journeyman Pictures: UK-based independent distributor and producer of international current affairs and human rights documentaries. Comparable in genre focus and broadcast-buyer overlap, supplying content to broadcasters and digital platforms worldwide.

Broad incumbents

• Vice Studios: Global documentary and current affairs producer covering conflict, human rights, and international affairs at significantly larger scale. Overlaps with Studio 9 Films on international conflict-zone storytelling but with much broader portfolio.
• BBC Studios Documentary Unit: In-house BBC production arm producing flagship documentaries including Horizon. Buys commissions from independents like Studio 9 Films while also producing competing in-house content at much larger scale.
• Al Jazeera English / Al Jazeera Productions: Key commissioning broadcaster for Studio 9 Films via the People and Power strand, and also an in-house producer of international documentary content covering conflict zones, human rights, and global affairs.

Emerging players

• Gwara Media: Ukraine-based international award-winning online media platform that is a strategic production partner of Studio 9 Films, providing local conflict-zone access. Functions as an adjacent producer of similar Ukraine-conflict content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Studio9films
• YouTubevimeo.com/studio9films
• Instagraminstagram.com/studio9filmsuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/Studio9FilmsUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studio-9-films-limited

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Studio 9 Films