Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

What Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard does

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are a London-based collaborative duo of artists and filmmakers who have worked together since meeting at art school in the early 1990s, formalising their joint practice in 1994. Their work spans feature documentary film, immersive audio installations, live performance art, moving image, curated exhibitions, and limited-edition publications. They pioneered re-enactment as a contemporary artistic practice through landmark projects including A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (re-staging David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust farewell), File Under Sacred Music (recreating The Cramps' Napa State Mental Institute performance), and Somnoproxy (an immersive sound installation using a 24-channel L-Acoustics system with 140dB dynamic range). Major feature films include 20,000 Days on Earth about Nick Cave (Sundance 2014, BAFTA-nominated, Grierson and BIFA winner), Broken English about Marianne Faithfull (Venice 2025), and The Extraordinary Miss Flower.

The duo operates an event-driven go-to-market anchored by premieres at international film festivals (Sundance, Berlin, Venice, London, Sydney) and institutional exhibitions at major cultural venues. Revenue derives from five streams: film production and distribution (festivals, cinema releases via Film4, streaming on BFI Player and All4); institutional commissions and exhibitions at Somerset House, Tate, Barbican, and Fitzrovia Chapel; commercial and branded content represented globally by Magna Studios (signed August 2026); limited-edition art publications and gallery sales (historically via Kate MacGarry); and audiobook production including Faith, Hope and Carnage for Nick Cave. Work is held in permanent collections at Tate, MoMA, Victoria & Albert Museum, and Yale Center for British Art.

As an independent private artistic practice with no disclosed corporate legal entity, external investment, funding rounds, or parent-company ownership, the duo operates through agent Josh Varney at 42 for management and Magna Studios for commercial projects. Core team consists of the two named founders with project-based collaborators. Customer base is institutional and high-prestige rather than volume-driven: Somerset House, BFI, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Barbican, and Tate. Award recognition includes Sundance World Documentary Directing Award and Editing Award, BAFTA nomination, Grierson Award for Best Arts Documentary, and British Independent Film Award.

Name

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

Legal name

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

Website

https://iainandjane.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard are a London-based artist and filmmaker duo, active since 1994, producing feature documentaries, immersive audio installations, live performances, and curated exhibitions for cultural institutions and musicians. Their work is held in Tate, MoMA, and V&A collections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art & Independent Film

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115), Sound Recording Studios (51224)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Historical, Biographical & Archival Documentaries (MPADADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts & Culture Documentaries (MPADADAI), Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Art film production
• Contemporary art installations
• Documentary filmmaking
• Exhibition curation
• Immersive audio installations

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Film Production & Distribution: Feature documentary and performance films produced and distributed through festivals, cinema releases, and streaming platforms. Recent films include Broken English (Venice premiere 2025) and The Extraordinary Miss Flower (BFI Player).
2. Art Exhibitions & Commissions: Institutional commissions and exhibitions at major cultural venues including Somerset House, Tate, Barbican, and Fitzrovia Chapel. Includes curatorships such as The Horror Show! at Somerset House.
3. Commercial & Branded Content: Global commercial and branded representation through Magna Studios, including music videos and branded projects.
4. Art Publications & Limited Editions: Historical publication project Words & Pictures (1994-1997) produced limited edition boxed artists' multiples in signed editions of 100. Now held in major collections.
5. Audiobook Production: Produced and directed the Faith, Hope and Carnage audiobook for Nick Cave and Seán O'Hagan, published by Canongate.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard are a collaborative artist and filmmaker duo who produce and direct feature films, art installations, live performance works, curated exhibitions, limited-edition publications, and audiobooks. Their practice centers on the use of re-enactment as a contemporary art method, blending documentary filmmaking with fictional narrative techniques, and creating immersive audio and moving-image works for museums, festivals, and cultural institutions.

Product overview

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard are London-based artists and filmmakers whose practice spans multiple disciplines including feature films, art installations, live performances, curatorial projects, publications, moving image works, podcasts, and audiobooks. Their work explores themes of re-enactment, authenticity, performance, memory, and the boundaries between art forms. Key film works include 20,000 Days on Earth (Sundance/Berlinale award winner) and Broken English about Marianne Faithfull. Major installation works include Somnoproxy, Requiem for 114 Radios, and The Horror Show! exhibition at Somerset House. Their early publication project Words & Pictures produced 10 issues of limited-edition artists' multiples from 1994-1997. The duo maintains active projects across Film, Art, Music, and Curating practice areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Feature Film Works Feature films and short films directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, including documentary and documentary-fiction formats. Major works include 20,000 Days on Earth (Nick Cave documentary, Sundance 2014), Broken English (Marianne Faithfull documentary, Venice 2025), The Extraordinary Miss Flower (BFI Player), and Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here. Distributed through festival premieres, cinema, and streaming platforms.
• Immersive Art Installations Immersive art installations exhibited at galleries and institutions worldwide. Notable works include Somnoproxy (a 24-channel L-Acoustics sound installation with a Dreamachine), Requiem for 114 Radios, The 24 Seven (surveillance video installation), and Multigraphs (photographic portrait series). Commissioned by and exhibited at institutions such as Somerset House.
• Live Performance Works Live art events and performance works including A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (a re-enactment of David Bowie's final Ziggy Stardust performance at the ICA), The Smiths is Dead, and The World Won't Listen, exploring themes of authenticity and tribute performance.
• Curatorial Projects Exhibition curation and co-curation projects including The Horror Show! at Somerset House (co-curated with Claire Catterall, 2022-2023, celebrating fifty years of British counterculture with over 200 artworks) and Souvenir/Miseris Succurrere Disco as inaugural Curators-in-Residence at Fitzrovia Chapel.
• Words & Pictures Limited-Edition Publications Historical publication project Words & Pictures (1994-1997): 10 issues of boxed artists' multiples published in signed limited editions of 100 copies, working with over 200 artists and writers. Now held in Tate, V&A, MoMA, and Yale Center for British Art collections.
• Faith, Hope and Carnage Audiobook Audiobook production for Nick Cave and Seán O'Hagan's Faith, Hope and Carnage, published by Canongate. Produced and directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, including musical codas from Carnage, Skeleton Tree, and Ghosteen albums.
• Coping Mechanisms Podcast Podcast series co-produced with Somerset House (launched July 2020) exploring the importance of creative initiatives devised during lockdown and the impromptu communities that emerged.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000 Days on Earth won World Documentary Directing Award and Editing Award at Sundance 2014
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

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

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Magna StudioscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 August 2026Signed to Magna Studios for global commercial and branded representation. The duo has a creative history with Magna, having worked together on Broken English, exploring the life of singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull.
• Fitzrovia ChapelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 November 2025Inaugural Curators-in-Residence at Fitzrovia Chapel, curating exhibitions Souvenir (2025) and Miseris Succurrere Disco (2026).
• Somerset HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2022Co-curated The Horror Show! exhibition with Somerset House senior curator Claire Catterall. Multiple exhibitions including Somnoproxy installation, 24/7 exhibition, and ongoing creative projects.
• Nick CavecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time collaborator on multiple projects including 20,000 Days on Earth documentary, Stranger Than Kindness exhibition installations, and Faith Hope and Carnage audiobook production.
• Jarvis CockercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaborator on soundtrack compositions, Coping Mechanisms podcast, Live from the Centre of the Earth performance film, and various other projects.
• BFI (British Film Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work. Distributes films through BFI Player streaming platform.
• Kate MacGarry GallerycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary gallery representation for exhibitions including Multigraphs and solo shows.
• Arts Council EnglandmajorOthersMajor funder supporting projects including Somnoproxy (with Moog Sound Lab UK and Adonyeva Foundation), File under Sacred Music, and Gazelle Twin collaboration.
• Moog Sound Lab UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for Somnoproxy immersive audio installation, creating sonic accompaniment in their sound lab.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lynne Ramsay: Scottish filmmaker with art-school background and strong festival pedigree. Comparable as a UK auteur filmmaker whose work crosses art cinema and major festival circuits.
• Ben Wheatley: British independent filmmaker with art-world crossover (A Field in England, In the Earth) and gallery-adjacent productions. Comparable as a UK filmmaker working in experimental/genre space with festival pedigree.

Others

• MUBI: Global streaming platform and film distributor specializing in festival and art-house cinema. Comparable distribution counterpart for documentary and art-filmmaker output, similar to BFI Player's role for the duo's films.
• Somerset House Studios: London cultural institution hosting studios, exhibitions, and residencies for artists and filmmakers. Comparable as a key institutional partner providing residency, exhibition, and commissioning infrastructure in the UK.
• Artangel: UK arts commissioning organization producing site-specific and installation art projects in non-gallery spaces. Comparable as a counterpart in the UK institutional commissioning ecosystem where Forsyth & Pollard's installation works are produced and shown.
• Kate MacGarry Gallery: London contemporary art gallery representing Forsyth & Pollard. Comparable as a primary commercial gallery infrastructure partner, like other UK galleries that represent artist-filmmakers in the primary market.

Direct peers

• Isaac Julien: British artist-filmmaker known for multi-screen moving image installations shown in major museums (Tate, MoMA) and film festivals. Closely comparable moving-image-art practice with similar institutional exhibition and award footprint.
• Sam Taylor-Johnson: British artist-turned-filmmaker whose practice similarly spans feature film direction (Nowhere Boy, Fifty Shades of Grey) and contemporary art installation. Directly comparable as an artist-filmmaker hybrid leveraging both gallery and cinema audiences.
• John Akomfrah: British artist-filmmaker and founder of Smoking Dogs Films producing multi-screen video installations and feature documentaries. Comparable as a UK-based artist-filmmaker working across gallery installations and cinema with strong music collaborators.
• Steve McQueen: Turner Prize-winning British artist who has built a major feature film career (12 Years a Slave, Widows, Hunger). Most directly comparable as a UK contemporary artist whose crossover into film shares the same institutional/exhibition/festival pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/iainandjane
• Instagraminstagram.com/iainandjane
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iain-forsyth-&-jane-pollard

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard