The Gateway Films

Name

The Gateway Films

Legal name

Les Films de la Passerelle

Website

https://passerelle.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Les Films de la Passerelle (The Gateway Films) is an independent Belgian documentary production company based in Liège, founded in 1984, that produces auteur-driven social and political documentaries for European public broadcasters, festivals, and VOD platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grant Funding & Public/Nonprofit Financing (MPADAAAO)

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Auteur documentary films
• Social issue documentaries
• Documentary coproduction
• Film distribution services

Headquarters

HQ city

Liège

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coproduction and Production Services: Primary revenue through producing documentaries as lead or co-producer with Belgian (RTBF, Wallimage), European (ARTE, MEDIA Programme), and international partners. Production financing comes from film funds, tax shelters, and broadcaster pre-purchases.
2. VOD and Digital Distribution: Films available for streaming/rental on VOD platforms including Auvio, Vimeo On Demand. Both paid catalog and free access collection available.
3. Broadcasting Rights: Television broadcast rights sold to Belgian (RTBF, VRT), European (ARTE), and international broadcasters.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Gateway Films produces and distributes documentary films focused on social, political, and human rights themes, with particular emphasis on North/South relations and justice. The company operates as an independent Belgian documentary studio producing auteur-driven works with recurring directors, supplemented by a VOD streaming platform that offers both paid and free access to the catalog. Production financing is structured through coproduction partnerships with Belgian and European broadcasters, film funds, and tax shelter mechanisms.

Product overview

Les Films de la Passerelle (The Gateway Films) is a Belgian documentary film production company founded in 1984. The company operates as a unified documentary studio offering a diverse catalog of documentary films organized by decade, supplemented by a VOD (Video on Demand) streaming platform. The portfolio spans documentaries from the 1980s through 2026, including works by recurring directors such as Thierry Michel, Idriss Gabel, Agnès Lejeune, and Gaëlle Hardy. Films cover social, political, and human themes including African history, immigration, labor, environmental issues, and contemporary societal challenges. The VOD platform offers both paid titles and a free collection of films, enabling direct distribution to audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Documentary Film Production Production of auteur-driven documentary films focused on social, political, and human realities, with emphasis on North/South relations, justice, and human rights. Service includes development, production financing through coproduction partnerships, and delivery to broadcasters and distribution partners.
• VOD Streaming Platform Subscription and free streaming platform offering digital access to the company's documentary catalog via Vimeo On Demand, with paid rental/purchase titles and free access collection.
• Mobutu, roi du Zaïre Documentary by Thierry Michel chronicling the rise and fall of Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, exploring how a cook's son became one of Africa's longest-ruling despots.
• L'arc-en-ciel éclaté Documentary by Belkacem Hadjadj following children survivors of the 1997 Raïs massacre as they create collective murals, expressing their traumatic memories and dreams.
• Katanga Business Documentary by Thierry Michel examining the politico-economic exploitation of the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world's richest mining regions.
• Sœur Sourire Film by Stijn Coninx telling the story of Jeannine Deckers, a Belgian woman who became a nun and composed the worldwide hit 'Dominique, nique, nique'.
• Les Enfants du Hasard Documentary by Thierry Michel & Pascal Colson following immigrant children in their final year of primary school with their teacher Brigitte, exploring themes of identity and integration.
• Je n'aime plus la mer Documentary by Idriss Gabel following refugee children from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Eritrea as they rebuild their lives in a Belgian Red Cross reception center.
• Après la pluie Documentary by Quentin Noirfalisse and Jérémy Parotte examining the aftermath of Belgium's deadliest climate disaster—the 2021 Vesdre and Ourthe valley floods—and stories of reconstruction.
• Vivre encore Documentary by Agnès Lejeune and Gaëlle Hardy following elderly people facing loss of autonomy, their families, caregivers, and loved ones on an initiatory journey.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70+ international festival selections for 'Mobutu, roi du Zaïre' alone
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 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, secondary and minor.

• RTBFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary Belgian Francophone public broadcaster - long-term co-production partner and broadcaster of documentaries. RTBF is involved as co-producer in majority of films.
• ARTEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean documentary channel co-producing documentaries with Les Films de la Passerelle for French and German broadcast.
• Les Films d'IcicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench documentary production company - frequent co-producer of films including 'Mobutu, roi du Zaïre' and 'Katanga Business'.
• VRT/CanvassecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian Dutch-language public broadcaster - co-producer of documentaries for Flemish audience.
• Croix-Rouge de BelgiqueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian Red Cross - partner for documentary 'Je n'aime plus la mer' about refugee children in reception centers.
• WIP Wallonie Image ProductioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWalloon image production company - frequent co-producer of documentaries.
• Sundance InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent nonprofit organization - provided support for documentary production.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dogwoof: London-based documentary sales and distribution company handling award-winning, socially-engarded feature documentaries for theatrical, festival, and platform release worldwide. Operates in the same documentary value chain.
• Final Cut for Real: Copenhagen-based documentary production house producing award-winning auteur documentaries on social, political, and human rights themes. Closely comparable in scale, editorial positioning, co-production strategy, and reliance on European public broadcasters and film funds.
• Cat&Docs: Paris-based international documentary sales agent representing socially-engaged, issue-driven feature documentaries to broadcasters, festivals, and VOD platforms globally. Operates in the same commercial layer of the European documentary ecosystem.
• Icarus Films: Brooklyn-based distributor specializing in independent documentary film for educational, theatrical, and home-video markets. Comparable role handling socially-engarded, festival-circuit documentaries for North American institutional and consumer audiences.
• Les Films d'Ici: Paris-based independent documentary production company with a comparable auteur-driven, socially-engaged editorial line. Direct collaborator with Les Films de la Passerelle on films including Mobutu, roi du Zaïre and Katanga Business, and operates a similar co-production model with European public broadcasters.
• Point du Jour: French independent documentary production company producing social-issue and current-affairs documentaries for French and European broadcasters. Comparable in editorial line, co-production financing model, and festival-to-broadcast pipeline.
• First Hand Films: Zurich- and London-based international documentary sales and distribution company focused on festival-quality, issue-driven documentaries. Comparable buyer-side counterpart for films of the profile produced by Les Films de la Passerelle.
• Autlook Filmsales: Vienna-based international documentary sales company representing festival-driven, socially-engarded documentaries to broadcasters and platforms worldwide. Comparable role as a commercial interface between auteur producers and global buyers.

Broad incumbents

• ARTE: Franco-German public broadcaster and a core co-production/broadcast partner of Les Films de la Passerelle. Comparable in commissioning social-issue and current-affairs documentaries at European scale, but operates as a much larger incumbent across a broad programming portfolio.
• RTBF: Belgian Francophone public broadcaster and the studio's primary long-term co-producer and broadcast partner. Comparable as a public broadcaster commissioning Belgian and international documentaries, but at much greater scale and portfolio breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@filmsdelapasserelle
• Facebookfacebook.com/filmspasserelle
• Instagraminstagram.com/filmsdelapasserelle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-films-de-la-passerelle

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 The Gateway Films