What Kiarostami Foundation does

The Kiarostami Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2016 in San Francisco following the death of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016). Its mission is to archive, manage, and extend the reach of Kiarostami's complete artistic body — spanning 54 films across five decades, photography collections including Snow White and Steps, 42 poetry and photography publications, stage direction work, and more than 40 museum exhibitions. Core operational capabilities center on digital film restoration (a multi-year 2016–2019 initiative covering the full filmography, with subsequent 2K and 4K restorations delivered through The Criterion Collection), archival management of photography and poetry assets, and curation of exhibitions at institutions including Centre Pompidou, MoMA PS1, Victoria & Albert Museum, LACMA, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

The foundation operates an event-driven and community-led go-to-market, with primary customer segments being museums and cultural institutions, educational institutions (notably via Docunight's university screening network across 25 North American cities), cinephiles and film scholars, and photography and art enthusiasts. Distribution relies on three core channels: The Criterion Collection for physical media and Criterion Channel streaming (20+ films), MK2 Films for international theatrical distribution, and direct museum and festival placements. The foundation's business model is a non-profit mix of donations and grants, licensing and royalties from film and image rights, and publishing and merchandise revenue; no public pricing exists, and operations run on a 1–10 employee base with no disclosed funding rounds or financial statements.

Programmatic extensions — Culturistan (international residency, launched May 2019), Docunight (Iranian documentary streaming, expanded globally in 2020), the Koker International Short Film Festival (3rd edition in Berlin, July 2026), and the forthcoming Negah letter collection (launching July 4, 2026) — form a diversified ecosystem around the archival core. The board comprises nine figures from cinema and the arts, including Peter Becker (President, Criterion/Janus Films), Marin Karmitz (Founder, MK2), Tom Luddy (Founder, Telluride Film Festival), directors Alejandro Iñárritu and Richard Linklater, artist Shirin Neshat, and Ahmad Kiarostami (the filmmaker's son), providing embedded distribution and festival relationships.

Name

Kiarostami Foundation

Legal name

Kiarostami Foundation

Website

https://kiarostami.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Kiarostami Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that archives and manages the films, photographs, poetry, and other works of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. It distributes restored films through The Criterion Collection and MK2 Films and operates cultural programs worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Preservation

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Archival Preservation & Conservation (Handling, Storage, Environmental Controls) (MPADAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Reissues, Remastering & Archive Services (MPAIAAAG), Archival Research, Rights & Provenance Services (Clearance, Chain-of-Custody) (MPADAMAI), Access & Distribution for Archives (Restored Masters, DCP Creation, Screening Deliverables) (MPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage preservation
• Film archive management
• Photography archive services
• Poetry publication works
• Arts education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the foundation relies on charitable donations and likely grants to fund operations, archival work, and educational programs.
2. Licensing and Royalties: Revenue generated through licensing Kiarostami's films, photographs, and other works for screenings, publications, and commercial uses.
3. Publishing and Merchandise: Sale of books, photography collections, and related publications documenting Kiarostami's work.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Kiarostami Foundation archives, preserves, and manages the complete artistic legacy of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, including 54 films spanning five decades, extensive photography collections, poetry, published books, and stage direction works. It operates cultural initiatives such as the Docunight documentary streaming platform, the Culturistan international residency program, the Negah curated letter collection, and the Koker International Short Film Festival, while licensing restored works globally through Criterion Collection and MK2 Films.

Product overview

The Kiarostami Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to archiving and managing the films, photographs, and other works of Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016). The foundation's offerings span a comprehensive filmography archive of 54 films, photography collections, published poetry and books, and cultural initiatives including the Koker International Short Film Festival, Culturistan residency program, Docunight streaming platform, and the newly launched Negah letter collection. Through partnerships with The Criterion Collection, the foundation preserves and distributes restored versions of Kiarostami's cinematic works while promoting his artistic and humanistic legacy through international exhibitions, stage productions, and educational programs worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Docunight Online streaming platform and monthly screening series focused on showcasing documentaries from or about Iran, expanding from in-person screenings in North America to global streaming access for cinephiles, students, and cultural enthusiasts.
• Culturistan International residency program bringing together thinkers and creators from across the globe to explore topics relevant to globalized society and creative impact, with inaugural session held in France.
• Negah A curated collection of personal letters written by invitation and open to all to read; Persian for 'gaze', it honors Abbas Kiarostami's spirit of poetic inquiry.
• Koker International Short Film Festival

Quantifiable outcome

• Film restoration completed across entire filmography
• +2 more outcomes

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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Criterion CollectioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for restoring and releasing Kiarostami's films. Includes Eclipse Series 47 (early shorts), Koker Trilogy box set, 24 Frames, Taste of Cherry (4K), The Wind Will Carry Us (4K), and streaming collection on Criterion Channel with 20+ films.
• MK2 FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor of Kiarostami's films. Sponsored Centre Pompidou retrospective exhibition in Paris, providing distribution support for the major museum show.
• Docunight PartnershipsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDocunight has partnerships with Orlando Museum of Art and American University of Cairo for film series programs about iconic artists, part of exhibition 'A Boundless Drop to A Boundless Ocean'.
• CG CinemaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for 24 Frames, Kiarostami's final film completed after his death with help from his son Ahmad Kiarostami.
• Klick Kino BerlinminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue partner for the 3rd Koker International Short Film Festival, organized with the Kiarostami Foundation, taking place July 1-3, 2026 in Berlin.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harvard Film Archive: University-based film archive curating and screening world cinema retrospectives, with strong ties to academic programming. Comparable in serving cinephile and scholarly audiences through curated screenings.
• George Eastman Museum: Film preservation museum and archive (formerly George Eastman House) restoring nitrate and other fragile film holdings. Comparable as an institution that combines archival conservation with photography exhibitions and educational programming.
• The Film Foundation: Nonprofit founded by Martin Scorsese dedicated to the preservation and restoration of world cinema. Mirrors the Kiarostami Foundation's mission of preserving an auteur's filmography through restoration, exhibition, and educational access.
• Cinémathèque Française: Major film archive and museum preserving French and world cinema heritage. Comparable in archival mission, exhibition programming, and partnerships that yield reissues and retrospectives of canonical filmmakers.
• Academy Film Archive: AMPAS's film preservation arm that restores and exhibits classic and world cinema. Operates a similar mandate of rescuing and providing access to endangered film heritage.
• Cinematek (Royal Belgian Film Archive): Belgian national film archive preserving and exhibiting world cinema heritage. Comparable as a European film archive focused on auteur retrospectives, public screenings, and educational access.

Broad incumbents

• MK2 Films: French independent producer, distributor, and exhibitor with deep auteur-cinema catalog and restoration activity. Foundation board member Marin Karmitz is MK2's founder, and MK2 acts as the foundation's international theatrical distributor.
• British Film Institute: UK national film archive and cultural organization operating the BFI National Archive, festivals (including London), and educational programming. Offers a closely analogous mix of preservation, exhibition, and educational access to heritage cinema.
• Criterion Collection / Janus Films: Premier US distributor and home-video label for classic and world cinema, also handling physical restoration and Criterion Channel streaming. Core distribution partner for the foundation and the most overlapping commercial entity in restoration-to-home-video pipeline.

Emerging players

• World Cinema Foundation: Nonprofit co-founded by Martin Scorsese and Wim Wenders to preserve endangered global films, particularly from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Closely comparable mission to the foundation's world-cinema preservation work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kiarostami-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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