Maysles Documentary Center
Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit operating a 51-seat documentary cinema, youth filmmaking workshops, fiscal-sponsorship services, and community archiving programs for Harlem residents, young filmmakers, and independent documentary projects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Maysles Documentary Center does
Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit organization dedicated to documentary film exhibition, production education, and community archiving. Founded in 1985 (per the company's own website) by legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (1926–2015), co-director of Grey Gardens, the center operates a 51-seat cinema at 343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, equipped with DCP (Digital Cinema Package) playback and Dolby surround sound enabling films screened there to qualify for Academy Awards consideration. The organization runs an 8-week intensive youth filmmaking workshop program teaching Super-8mm and Mini DV documentary techniques, a Community Producers Program for adult community content creation, and a fiscal sponsorship service for independent documentary projects seeking tax-exempt status.
The center's business model is a blended nonprofit stack rather than a single commercial offering. Revenue streams include donations (processed via PayPal), annual memberships with tiered benefits, ticket sales ($7 reduced / $15 general admission / $35–$100 premium event tiers), fiscal-sponsorship administrative fees, and 51-seat cinema rentals for private events. Programmatic revenue is supplemented by an annual Albie Awards fundraiser and grant-funded community programming. Customer segments are highly distributed across three primary constituencies: Harlem community members attending film screenings and free outdoor events, young filmmakers participating in education programs, and independent documentary filmmakers/projects receiving fiscal sponsorship, along with secondary filmmakers seeking screeners and audience engagement.
The organization maintains a physical archive of decades of community Q&A sessions, panels, and Harlem community stories recorded on Mini DV, currently being digitized for public access, alongside Albert Maysles' cinematic legacy materials. The center partners with organizations such as the Hip-Hop Education Center (H2O/Hip-Hop Odyssey monthly programming and outdoor screenings at Marcus Garvey Park), Black Cinema Collective (RiZe Up Hurricane Relief fundraiser), Third World Newsreel (Newsreel Retrospective), and Cinema Week NYC. Marketing is carried out across the maysles.org website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Vimeo, an email newsletter, and earned media coverage in outlets including The New York Times, Boston Globe, IndieWire, WNYC, and Authority Magazine. The organization employs 11–50 staff and is led by Executive Director Kazembe Balagun; it is not venture-backed and operates on donations, memberships, ticket revenue, and grants.
Maysles Documentary Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Maysles Documentary Center
- Legal name
- Maysles Documentary Center
- Website
- https://maysles.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit operating a 51-seat documentary cinema, youth filmmaking workshops, fiscal-sponsorship services, and community archiving programs for Harlem residents, young filmmakers, and independent documentary projects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Maysles Documentary Center industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Documentary Cinema
- NAICS
- Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) (512131)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC)
Keywords
Where Maysles Documentary Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Maysles Documentary Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Donations: The organization is a nonprofit that accepts donations through PayPal and other channels to support operations and programming.
- Memberships: Annual memberships offering benefits to supporters of the documentary center.
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from general admission tickets ($15) and reduced price tickets ($7) for film screenings and special events.
- Fiscal Sponsorship: MDC offers fiscal sponsorship to documentary projects, providing administrative support and tax-exempt status in exchange for a fee or percentage.
- Cinema Rentals: The 51-seat cinema space is available for rentals to filmmakers and organizations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | General Admission |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Reduced Price |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Premium Event Tier |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Event Tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Maysles Documentary Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit operating a 51-seat documentary cinema with DCP and Dolby capabilities that host film screenings, special events, and filmmaker programs. It provides youth filmmaking workshops and educational programs, archives community documentary content, and offers fiscal sponsorship services to independent documentary filmmakers seeking nonprofit status.
Product overview
Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit organization operating a unified offering centered on documentary film and community education. The core portfolio consists of the Maysles Cinema (a 51-seat theater with DCP/Oscars-qualifying capabilities), Education Programs (youth filmmaking workshops), Archives (historical documentary preservation), and the Albie Awards (annual filmmaker recognition). Additional offerings include Fiscal Sponsorship for independent filmmakers, Cinema Rentals for private events, Memberships for supporter engagement, and the 10 For 10 video series celebrating the organization's legacy. The center uses filmmaking to amplify underrepresented artists and narratives while empowering young filmmakers in creative self-expression.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Maysles Cinema
Quantifiable outcome
- Grey Gardens was selected for the National Film Registry, demonstrating the enduring impact of Maysles' documentary legacy
Companies that use Maysles Documentary Center
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Maysles Documentary Center technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Maysles Documentary Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hip-Hop Education CentercoreCo-presented the outdoor screening of 'BAM BAM: The Sister Nancy Story' and 'BUBBLING BABY' at Marcus Garvey Park as part of the MADE YOU LOOK: H2O (HIP-HOP ODYSSEY) series.
- Hip-Hop Education CentercoreLaunched H2O (Hip-Hop Odyssey) Community Day, a monthly program in Harlem featuring film screenings, storytelling, and community archiving activities to promote community participation in preserving hip-hop history and cultural expression.
- Cinema Week NYCminorCo-presented 'Ashley Clark Presents: The World of Black Film Documentaries' as part of Cinema Week NYC, offering free tickets for the event.
- Third World Newsreel (TWN)minorCo-presented a Newsreel Retrospective (1968-1972) examining national liberation struggles and anti-imperialist resistance through documentary films from the Newsreel collective.
- Black Cinema CollectivecoreCo-presented the RiZe Up Hurricane Relief fundraiser screening of 'LIFE & DEBT' for Jamaica hurricane relief, combining film screening with community organizing and fundraising efforts.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Maysles Documentary Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- The Brattle Theatre: Nonprofit independent cinema in Cambridge, MA programming repertory, independent, and documentary films with educational events — comparable single-venue nonprofit cinematic repertory model.
- Jacob Burns Film Center: Nonprofit three-screen cinema and education center in Pleasantville, NY offering independent and documentary programming plus media literacy education — comparable nonprofit cinema-with-education model outside NYC.
Direct peers
- Metrograph: Boutique NYC cinema and cultural venue on the Lower East Side showing repertory and new independent/documentary films with restaurants and event programming — comparable as a curated, event-driven NYC repertory cinema.
- Anthology Film Archives: NYC nonprofit archive and screening venue dedicated to preserving and exhibiting independent, experimental, and documentary cinema — directly comparable mission around nonfiction film preservation and public exhibition.
- Film Forum: Independent nonprofit cinema in Greenwich Village, NYC, operating three screens dedicated primarily to independent, documentary, and repertory programming — the closest operational analog to Maysles' single-screen nonprofit documentary model.
- DCTV (Downtown Community Television Center): NYC nonprofit media arts center providing documentary filmmaking workshops, screenings, and post-production facilities — directly comparable community-centered documentary education and exhibition mission.
- Museum of the Moving Image: NYC museum and screening venue dedicated to the history and art of film, television, and digital media; runs educational programs and public screenings similar to Maysles' cinema-plus-education model.
- IFC Center: Five-screen NYC independent film cinema programming independent, documentary, and repertory releases with strong film-event and Q&A programming — comparable peer on venue-based indie/documentary exhibition.
Broad incumbents
- BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music): Large NYC multidisciplinary arts institution with a robust cinema program screening independent and documentary films, plus education and community engagement — comparable overlapping programming but at much larger scale and broader artistic scope.
- SVA Theatre: NYC cinema associated with the School of Visual Arts screening independent, documentary, and festival programming with an education orientation — comparable arts-education-meets-exhibition model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Maysles Documentary Center social profiles
Digital presenceMaysles Documentary Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Maysles Documentary Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Maysles Documentary Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Maysles Documentary Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Maysles Documentary Center
What does Maysles Documentary Center do?
Maysles Documentary Center is a Harlem-based nonprofit operating a 51-seat documentary cinema with DCP and Dolby capabilities that host film screenings, special events, and filmmaker programs. It provides youth filmmaking workshops and educational programs, archives community documentary content, and offers fiscal sponsorship services to independent documentary filmmakers seeking nonprofit status.
Is Maysles Documentary Center a public or private company?
Maysles Documentary Center is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Maysles Documentary Center founded?
Maysles Documentary Center was founded in 1985. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Maysles Documentary Center based?
Maysles Documentary Center is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Maysles Documentary Center make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are memberships, ticket Sales, fiscal Sponsorship and cinema Rentals.
Who are Maysles Documentary Center's main competitors?
Regional players on record are The Brattle Theatre and Jacob Burns Film Center. Direct peers are Metrograph, Anthology Film Archives, Film Forum, DCTV (Downtown Community Television Center), Museum of the Moving Image and IFC Center. Broad incumbents are BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and SVA Theatre.
Does Maysles Documentary Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for Maysles Documentary Center.
What industry is Maysles Documentary Center in?
Maysles Documentary Center's product category is Community Documentary Cinema. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAKAF, Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional), with a secondary code of MPADADAC, Short-Form Documentaries. Its NAICS code is 512131 and its SIC code is 7830.