brave new work GmbH

What brave new work GmbH does

brave new work GmbH is a Hamburg- and Cologne-based independent film production company that has been operating for over 20 years, producing feature films, documentaries, and animated films for cinema and television. The company's portfolio is oriented toward internationally relevant, socially and politically engaged projects and is represented at major festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Annecy, Montreal, and IDFA, with award recognition including the Max Ophüls Prize, Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award, ARD Program Award, and a German Film Award nomination. Its current creative emphasis is on animated films and series for adult audiences, exemplified by productions such as TEHRAN TABU (Cannes Camera d'Or nominee), PETERCHENS MONDFAHRT, and KLEINE GERMANEN.

The company operates as part of an integrated group with three sister entities: Little Dream Entertainment (production), Red Parrot Studios (animation and VFX), and Little Dream Pictures, the distribution arm founded in 2016 that handles theatrical and home entertainment exploitation of the group's own and licensed productions. The technology base is traditional film production with VFX and animation capabilities internalized via Red Parrot Studios; there are no disclosed AI/ML, software platform, or technology product components.

Commercially, brave new work operates a project-based professional services revenue model. Each production is financed through a combination of co-production contributions from German and Austrian public broadcasters (ZDF, ARD Degeto, ORF, ARTE, WDR, SWR), European Union funding (Creative Europe MEDIA), international pre-sales at festivals, and theatrical distribution via Little Dream Pictures. Broadcast licensing to public broadcasters generates licensing/royalty revenue, distribution generates one-time licensing revenue, and production services generate professional services fees. Customers are B2B — broadcasters, distributors, and festival ecosystems — with no consumer-facing product. The company is privately held, founder-managed by Mohammad Farokhmanesh (Managing Director/Producer/Director), with no disclosed external funding rounds.

Name

brave new work GmbH

Legal name

brave new work GmbH

Website

https://bravenewwork.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

brave new work GmbH is an independent Hamburg- and Cologne-based film production company producing feature films, documentaries, and animated films for international cinema and television, with co-productions funded by German and Austrian public broadcasters and distribution via its Little Dream Pictures arm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Film Production Services: Production of feature films, documentaries, and animated films for cinema and television. Revenue generated through production fees, coproduction contributions from broadcast partners, and international pre-sales.
2. Distribution Revenue: Cinematic and home entertainment distribution of own and licensed productions through Little Dream Pictures, the company's distribution arm founded in 2016.
3. Broadcast Licensing: Licensing of completed productions to broadcasters including ZDF, ARD Degeto, ORF, ARTE, and WDR for television broadcast rights.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

brave new work GmbH is a German film production company that produces feature films, documentaries, and animated films for cinema and television. The company develops internationally oriented, socially and politically relevant projects with artistic merit, with a current emphasis on animated films and series for adult audiences. Theatrical and home entertainment distribution of own and licensed productions is handled through its sister company Little Dream Pictures.

Product overview

brave new work GmbH is a film production company based in Hamburg and Cologne, Germany, founded over 20 years ago. The company operates as part of a group including Little Dream Entertainment (production) and Red Parrot Studios (animation/VFX). Their core offering consists of feature films, documentaries, and animated films for cinema and television. They specialize in internationally-oriented projects with social and political relevance, with a current focus on adult animation. Their distribution is handled through Little Dream Pictures (founded 2016). Key productions include animated features like Peterchens Mondfahrt (Moonbound) and Teheran Tabu, documentary-animation hybrids like Kleine Germanen (Little Germans), and documentary films like Kick in Iran and Freiheit im Herzen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Little Dream Entertainment: Film production sister company
• Red Parrot Studios
• Little Dream Pictures

Products and services

• Feature Film Production

Quantifiable outcome

• Productions selected for major international festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Annecy, Montreal, IDFA

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Little Dream EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister production company that forms the core corporate group with brave new work and Red Parrot Studios since 2014, providing production services and technical/organizational synergies for independently developed projects.
• Red Parrot StudioscoreTechnology or IntegrationSister company providing animation and VFX (visual effects) capabilities. Part of the integrated corporate group with brave new work and Little Dream Entertainment since 2014 for technical and organizational synergies.
• Little Dream PicturescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution arm of the corporate group, founded in 2016, handling cinematic and home entertainment exploitation of brave new work's own and licensed productions.
• coop99 filmproduktionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoproduction partner for films including TEHRAN TABOO and MOONBOUND. Collaborative production relationship for international feature film projects.
• ZDFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman public broadcaster and coproduction partner for ROADKILL and MOONBOUND, providing broadcast licensing and coproduction funding.
• ORF Film/Fernseh-AbkommenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian broadcaster and coproduction partner for MOONBOUND, providing broadcast licensing and coproduction funding.
• ARD DegetominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman public broadcaster responsible for ARD's international programming, coproduction partner for 45 MINUTES TO RAMALLAH.
• SWRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman public broadcaster (Southwest Broadcasting), coproduction partner for LITTLE GERMANS in collaboration with ARTE.
• ARTEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean public broadcaster channel, coproduction partner for LITTLE GERMANS with SWR.
• WDRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman public broadcaster (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), coproduction partner for TOMORROW WE ARE FREE.
• Senator FilmminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman film distributor, coproduction partner for THE MAMBA (Die Mamba).
• e&a filmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian film production company, coproduction partner for THE MAMBA (Die Mamba).
• Wüste FilmproduktionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman production company, coproduction partner for EINE ANDERE LIGA with ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• UFA GmbH: Germany and Europe's largest TV/film production group (Bertelsmann subsidiary), providing the dominant incumbent benchmark for the same production ecosystem in which brave new work operates.
• Studio Babelsberg AG: Germany's oldest large-scale film studio and production services company operating in the same German film production sector at substantially greater scale and with much broader scope than brave new work.
• Studio Hamburg GmbH: Hamburg-based German film and television production and post-production group headquartered in the same city as brave new work — an established incumbent operating across the same regional production cluster at substantially larger scale.

Direct peers

• Wüste Film: Hamburg/Cologne-based independent German film production company of comparable scale and ethos, producing art-house features with broadcaster coproduction and festival-circuit positioning — and a former coproduction partner of brave new work on EINE ANDERE LIGA.
• Heimatfilm GmbH: Cologne-based independent German producer (with affiliated distribution) producing arthouse and socially engaged features — a clear geographic and editorial parallel to brave new work's Hamburg/Cologne base and socially relevant stance.
• 23/5 Filmproduktion GmbH: Berlin-based independent producer of arthouse features and documentaries that similarly leverages public broadcaster commissions and festival-circuit distribution — a direct peer in scale and GTM.
• Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion: Hamburg-based independent production company of similar size producing art-house, internationally oriented feature films — closely comparable in geographic base, scale, and arthouse positioning to brave new work.
• Rohfilm GmbH: Berlin/Hamburg independent production house producing art-house features and documentaries with strong festival positioning — comparable in creative orientation, scale, and German broadcaster-coproduction model to brave new work.
• coop99 filmproduktion: Austrian independent production company of similar scale producing socially engaged arthouse features — and an existing coproduction partner of brave new work (TEHRAN TABOO, MOONBOUND) — making it a tight cross-border peer.
• Pandora Film: German distribution and production company with a comparable art-house/arthouse catalog and European festival positioning, overlapping with brave new work on the German-festival-title distribution layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bravenewworkfilm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brave-new-work-filmproductions-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 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 brave new work GmbH