AfterImage Public Media

What AfterImage Public Media does

AfterImage Public Media is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit documentary production company founded in 2007 and headquartered at 39 Mesa Street, Suite 206, San Francisco, CA. The organization researches social, political, historical, and cultural issues, develops projects, and raises philanthropic funds to produce documentary film and television projects, accompanying educators' curricula, and community engagement programs including public events. It operates a portfolio model — each documentary is created with a different independent filmmaker — and works with filmmakers who have a track record of theatrical and television distribution.

The company's film portfolio spans roughly 15 documented titles including 'Athlete A', 'Audrie & Daisy', 'The Island President', 'An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power', 'In Waves and War', 'The White House Effect', 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore', 'The Seer and the Unseen', and 'American Jerusalem'. Distribution is secured through top-tier partners: Netflix for streaming titles, PBS and ITVS for public broadcasting, and Actual Films and Goldwyn Films for theatrical release. The company is led by President Jon Shenk, an award-winning documentary filmmaker (Independent Spirit Award 2004, Emmy 2007, TIFF People's Choice 2011, Peabody 2016, BAFTA nomination 2018, Oscar shortlist 2018).

The organization is funded almost entirely by foundation and philanthropic grants rather than commercial revenue. Named funding partners include The Ford Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Sundance Documentary Fund, ITVS, Atlantic Philanthropies, The Fledgling Fund, Fleishhacker Foundation, Koret Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and Zellerbach Family Foundation. Pricing is not publicly disclosed because the organization does not sell products or services; its economic model is institutional grantmaking for mission-aligned media production.

Name

AfterImage Public Media

Legal name

AfterImage Public Media

Website

https://afterimagepublicmedia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AfterImage Public Media is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 that produces and distributes documentary films on social, political, historical, and cultural subjects, working with award-winning filmmakers and distributing through Netflix, PBS, and ITVS via foundation-funded grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC), Public Media Partnerships & Content Co-productions (NGO/Cultural) (MPABADAN)

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Nonprofit media
• Educational media content
• Community engagement programs
• Foundation-funded filmmaking

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Philanthropic Funding: AfterImage Public Media operates as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises funds from foundations and philanthropic organizations to produce documentary films and educational media addressing social, political, historical, and cultural subjects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AfterImage Public Media is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that researches social, political, historical, and cultural issues, develops documentary film and television projects, and raises foundation funds to produce and distribute them. The company works with established filmmakers to create feature-length and short documentaries that secure distribution through Netflix, ITVS, PBS, and theatrical release, alongside educators' curricula and community engagement programs designed to raise public awareness on matters of public interest.

Product overview

AfterImage Public Media is a non-profit documentary film production company that produces and distributes educational media addressing social, political, historical and cultural subjects. The company operates as a portfolio of documentary film projects, each created with different filmmakers and targeting various social issues. The product portfolio includes feature-length documentaries such as Athlete A (Netflix), Audrie & Daisy (Netflix), The Island President, and The White House Effect, as well as short-form documentaries like Lead Me Home and Mercedes. The company also produces community engagement programs and educators' curricula alongside its film productions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In Waves and War Documentary following three former Navy SEALs living with post-combat trauma as they seek healing, hope, and a new way forward through psychedelic-assisted therapy. Distributed via Netflix.
• Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore Documentary looking back on the life and career of Marlee Matlin, the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, exploring the complexity of carrying that history as a public first. Distributed via ITVS.
• Mercedes A 12-minute portrait of Mercedes Weatherford, a woman in her 70s who still works full-time in pre-pandemic San Francisco, reflecting on her career and life journey.
• A Night at the Stone Burlesk Documentary tracing the story of a Jewish American family whose grandparents secretly ran Detroit's Stone Burlesk for more than fifty years.
• The Crooked Edge Feature-length documentary about the recent and turbulent history of New York's Lower East Side, following the diverse community forged amid urban decay.
• The White House Effect Documentary using archival material to tell the origin story of the climate crisis and the political battle inside the George H.W. Bush administration that changed global warming policy.
• One With the Whale Documentary following an Alaska Native family after their son becomes the youngest person to harpoon a whale for his village and faces online attacks.
• Land of Gold Documentary going behind the scenes of Peter Sellars' San Francisco Opera production of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West. Distributed via PBS.
• The Seer and the Unseen Magic realist documentary about invisible elves, financial collapse and the power of belief, told through an Icelandic woman who speaks on behalf of nature.
• Life Overtakes Me Documentary about hundreds of refugee children in Sweden afflicted with Resignation Syndrome, withdrawing from the world into a coma-like state.
• Athlete A Documentary spotlighting the sexual abuse of young athletes by USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar and the team working to hold them accountable. Selected for 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, distributed via Netflix.
• Lead Me Home Short film following several people living on the streets in West Coast cities over three years, aiming to spark a national conversation about urban homelessness.
• Audrie & Daisy Documentary examining the ripple effects on families, friends, schools and communities when sexual assault crimes against underage young women are caught on camera. Peabody Award winner, distributed via Netflix.
• The Island President Documentary following President Mohamed Nasheed as he brings democracy to his island nation and fights for climate action at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit. TIFF People's Choice Award winner.
• American Jerusalem Documentary bringing San Francisco's Jewish heritage to life through stories of Levi Strauss, Adolph Sutro, Isaias Hellman and others.
• Community Engagement Programs Programs designed to raise awareness about matters in the public interest, developed alongside documentary productions to extend the social impact of the films beyond viewing audiences.
• Educators' Curricula Curriculum materials developed to accompany documentary productions, providing educational institutions with resources on the social, political, historical, and cultural subjects covered in the films.

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Independent Television Service (ITVS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic broadcasting partner that provides distribution for AfterImage documentaries including 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore'. Also a funding partner.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Geographic Documentary Films: Documentary production and distribution arm of National Geographic, producing prestige nonfiction content for theatrical and streaming release. Comparable as a larger established player in the documentary space with similar subject-matter breadth including climate and cultural heritage.
• PBS Distribution: Distribution arm of PBS, the national public television network that broadcasts AfterImage films including Land of Gold. Comparable as a public-media distribution channel serving the same audience for social-issue documentary content.
• Participant Documentary Films: Operating division of Participant Media focused specifically on impact-driven documentary production and distribution. Comparable as a larger, well-capitalized player producing socially-themed documentaries for streaming and theatrical release.

Others

• Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program: Nonprofit documentary funding and creative-support program that has directly funded AfterImage via the Sundance Documentary Fund. Comparable as a nonprofit ecosystem enabler supporting the same social-issue documentary production pipeline.

Emerging players

• XTR: Los Angeles-based documentary streaming platform and production company that funds and distributes nonfiction content directly to consumers. Emerging peer operating at the intersection of documentary production and streaming distribution that competes for talent and projects.

Direct peers

• Actual Films: San Francisco-based documentary production company that has co-produced multiple AfterImage titles (Athlete A, Audrie & Daisy, The Island President). Directly comparable as a documentary production partner with overlapping subject matter and festival-circuit focus.
• ITVS (Independent Television Service): San Francisco-based nonprofit that funds, produces, and distributes independent documentary content for public television, including partnerships with AfterImage. Directly comparable as a public-media-focused documentary production and distribution entity.
• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit documentary production company with a 50+ year track record of producing award-winning social-issue films (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters). Operates the same foundation-funded nonprofit model targeting similar educational, social-justice, and cultural themes.
• Participant Media: Los Angeles-based impact media company producing documentary and narrative content (An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc.) with explicit social-issue framing. Closely comparable as a mission-driven content producer that pairs theatrical/streaming distribution with advocacy campaigns.

Regional players

• ReelAbilities Film Festival / JCC Manhattan: Disability-focused documentary festival and programming organization. Thematically comparable given AfterImage's work on Marlee Matlin and broader social-equity content, though operating more narrowly around disability representation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 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 AfterImage Public Media