Shining Film

What Shining Film does

Shining Film AG is a Swiss audio-visual production company headquartered in Zürich, founded in 2007 as Shining Pictures GmbH. The company produces commercials, branded content, documentaries, and fiction formats for an international portfolio of Swiss and foreign enterprise clients, working through advertising agencies as well as direct engagements. Its core capabilities span the full production value chain, from creative concept and directing talent management through to in-house postproduction covering editing, color grading, VFX, and online finishing. The company runs production facilities in an old industrial site on the Zurich-Wollishofen lake shore and maintains a hybrid directing roster that combines international talent with internally developed Swiss directors, including the award-recognized Fröhlich duo with Cannes Lions and ADC honors.

The business operates on a B2B professional services model, with revenue generated through custom project-based fees for production and postproduction services. GTM is sales-led and channeled through agency partnerships, supported by trade-press visibility in Swiss advertising publications (persoenlich.com, m&k, HORIZONT, Klein Report, werbewoche). The customer base spans multiple verticals including retail (Coop, Netto), transportation (SBB), tourism (Switzerland Tourismus), insurance (Vaudoise), and food and beverage (Rivella). In 2017 the firm expanded beyond advertising into fiction formats and documentaries with Swiss television and streaming partners, and a network partnership with Shining nice formalizes fiction work as a separate brand. In 2024 the company began applying AI-assisted production techniques, with AI Artists credited on the SBB Quereinstieg campaign.

Shining Film is a privately held, founder-owned company with no disclosed external investors, parent entity, or institutional capital. Founder Stefan Bircher is identified as Founder, Partner, and Producer. The legal entity (Shining Film AG) is a Swiss public limited company. Operations are concentrated in Europe with no disclosed revenue, funding, or headcount figures beyond an 11-50 employee range. The company is independent, actively operating, and structured as a single flagship entity without disclosed subsidiaries.

Name

Shining Film

Legal name

Shining Film AG

Website

https://shining.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shining Film AG is a Zürich-based Swiss audio-visual production company founded in 2007 that produces commercials, fiction, and documentary content for major Swiss and international enterprise clients, with in-house postproduction and a hybrid directing talent roster.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Production Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Video/Film Creative Agencies (Concept-to-Creative) (MPAAAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Post-Production (Editorial, Color, Online Finishing) (MPAAAMAB)

Keywords

• Commercial film production
• Advertising production services
• Audio-visual content production
• Documentary production
• Fiction film production

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Audio-Visual Content Production: Production of commercials, documentaries, and fiction formats for an international client portfolio. Revenue generated through project-based fees for production and postproduction services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Shining Film AG is a Zürich-based film production company that produces audio-visual content including TV and digital commercials, documentaries, and fiction formats for an international client portfolio of brands and their advertising agencies. The company offers end-to-end production services from concept through filming to in-house postproduction, and combines international directing talent with homegrown Swiss directors to deliver campaigns across retail, insurance, tourism, transportation, and consumer goods sectors.

Product overview

Shining Film AG operates as a unified audio-visual content production company offering commercial production, fiction formats, and documentary services. Founded in 2007 as Shining Pictures GmbH, the company expanded in 2017 to include fiction and documentary production in partnership with Swiss television and streaming providers. The portfolio includes in-house postproduction capabilities and talent development programs for Swiss directors. The company works with both international directing talent and emerging Swiss directors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Production Production of commercial advertising content for an international client portfolio, including TV commercials, digital content, and branded films, for enterprise brands and their advertising agencies.
• Fiction Formats Production Production of fiction content in collaboration with Swiss television and private streaming service providers, delivered via the Shining nice network partnership.
• Documentary Production Production of documentary content in collaboration with Swiss television and private streaming providers, leveraging the company's directing talent roster and in-house postproduction.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Shining nicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShining nice is a network partner company specializing in fiction formats. For all things fiction, clients are directed to [email protected], indicating a strategic partnership for fiction content production.
• SeedminorOthersSeed is listed as a network partner, with logo displayed alongside Shining nice on the company network page.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Pumpkin Film: Swiss commercial and branded content production company based in Switzerland. Regional peer serving similar Swiss brand clients through agency relationships.

Direct peers

• Partizan: Globally distributed production company with strong directing talent roster producing commercials, music videos and branded content. Direct peer in commercial production services and talent management.
• Anonymous Content: Production company spanning commercials, films and series with integrated postproduction and an elite director roster. Highly comparable operating model to Shining's full-service, talent-led approach.
• RSA Films: Long-standing global commercial and film production company with a deep director roster. Directly comparable as a full-service production house serving major brands and agencies across commercials and longer-form work.
• Hungry Man: Global commercial production company with a strong director roster serving top brands and agencies. Comparable in serving Fortune 500 advertisers with high-end creative production.
• MJZ: Award-winning commercial production company with globally recognized directors. Closely comparable as a director-driven shop producing premium brand campaigns through agency relationships.
• Smuggler: International commercial and film production company with a roster of A-list directors. Direct peer in commercial production services for major global advertisers with integrated post capabilities.
• Radical Media: Multi-discipline production company producing commercials, documentaries and long-form content for global brands. Closely mirrors Shining's format mix and integrated postproduction structure.
• Academy Films: UK-based commercial and film production company with renowned directing talent. Comparable in producing award-winning commercials for major international brands through agency partnerships.
• Biscuit Filmworks: Commercial production company known for directing talent and award-winning work for major brands. Direct peer in the creative-commercial production space with agency-mediated go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Shining Film