Luna Productions

What Luna Productions does

Luna Productions is a private documentary filmmaking partnership founded in 1980 by Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg, headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and operating with a 12-person team. The firm produces long-form documentaries, primetime network specials, K-12 educational shorts, and bespoke non-profit videos across subject matter ranging from neuroscience and social justice to family relationships, indigenous rights, and military ethics. Its output has been broadcast on PBS, ABC, HBO, WB, and internationally, and has accumulated two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Emmy nominations, an Academy Award shortlist, and multiple international film festival best-documentary honors.

The firm's technology and production stack is fundamentally craft-based: pre-production, filming, and post-production (editing) services executed by the founding duo and a small team, with no proprietary software, AI/ML, or platform infrastructure disclosed. Revenue is generated through three streams: B2B documentary production services for non-profits, foundations, and educational institutions (project-based, quote-based, multi-year contracts); one-time broadcast and international licensing of completed documentaries to networks (PBS POV, ABC, HBO, WB) and distributors (Bull Frog Films, Journeyman TV); and sponsorships/grants from corporate sponsors (Kodak, Johnson & Johnson) and foundations (Gates Foundation via Teaching Channel). The go-to-market motion is sales-led and project-driven, anchored by long-tenure client relationships (e.g., BAWCC over 15 years), film festival circuit visibility, earned media (NYT, LA Times, Variety), and direct DVD/website sales for individual consumers. Customer concentration is spread across many non-profit organizations and broadcast networks, with episodic lumpy revenue tied to individual documentary productions rather than recurring SaaS-like streams.

Name

Luna Productions

Legal name

Luna Productions

Website

https://lunaproductions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Luna Productions is a private documentary filmmaking partnership of Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg, founded in 1980, producing award-winning feature documentaries, K-12 educational shorts, and non-profit videos for broadcast networks, foundations, and educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Journalism Documentaries (MPADADAD)

Keywords

• Documentary production services
• Educational video production
• Non-profit fundraising videos
• Broadcast documentary licensing
• Social issue filmmaking

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco Bay Area

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Documentary Production Services: B2B documentary production for non-profit organizations, foundations, and educational institutions. Production of promotional/educational videos, feature documentaries, and broadcast content.
2. Film Licensing and Broadcast Rights: Licensing of completed documentaries to broadcast networks (PBS, ABC, HBO, WB), international television, and streaming platforms. DVD sales directly to consumers.
3. Sponsorships and Grants: Sponsorship deals with corporate sponsors (Kodak, Johnson & Johnson) and foundation grants for documentary production.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Luna Productions is a documentary filmmaking partnership that produces feature-length documentaries, primetime network specials, short educational videos, and custom non-profit videos for foundations, broadcast networks, and educational institutions. The company has produced 8 primetime network documentary specials broadcast on PBS, ABC, FOX, and WB, over 200 short educational videos for Teaching Channel (Gates Foundation), and award-winning works including My Love Affair with the Brain, Soldiers of Conscience, Ballets Russes, and Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.

Product overview

Luna Productions is a documentary filmmaking partnership of Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg, producing documentary films, educational videos for Teaching Channel (K-12), and videos for non-profit organizations. Their portfolio includes feature documentaries like 'My Love Affair with the Brain' and 'Soldiers of Conscience', short-form educational content for Teaching Channel (200+ videos), and custom videos for non-profits. The company has produced 8 primetime Network documentary specials broadcast on ABC, PBS, FOX, and WB, won 2 Emmys, received 6 Emmy nominations, and been shortlisted for Academy Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Documentary Films Full-length documentary films produced by Luna Productions covering subjects including neuroscience, social issues, family relationships, and historical topics, for broadcast networks, educational distribution, and theatrical release.
• Teaching Channel Educational Videos Over 200 short (5-minute) educational videos for K-12 teacher training created with Teaching Channel (Gates Foundation-funded), covering math, science, ELA, and social studies teaching strategies and compiled into a 20-hour PBS series.
• Non-Profit Custom Videos Documentary and promotional videos produced for non-profit organizations including Earthjustice, Women's Foundation of California, Seventh Generation Fund, BAWCC, Brotherhood Crusade, California Endowment, and others for fundraising, awareness, and anniversary purposes.
• Soldiers of Conscience Feature documentary exploring the ethical questions of killing in war, featuring interviews with soldiers who killed and those who refused; broadcast on PBS POV and used in curriculum at West Point Military Academy and VA facilities.
• The Story of Mothers and Daughters Award-winning primetime network documentary exploring mother-daughter relationships, featuring interviews with over 400 women and girls, broadcast on major U.S. networks.
• The Story of Fathers and Sons Primetime network documentary exploring the complex relationships between fathers and sons, featuring interviews with over 600 men and boys, broadcast on major U.S. networks.
• Ballets Russes Feature documentary about the history of the Ballets Russes dance companies, co-edited and co-written by Gary Weimberg with directors Geller and Goldfine; ranked #1 documentary at the U.S. box office in 2005.
• Virdi Samay (Life and Breath) First documentary ever made in the Kichwa language, documenting the Kichwa people's efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforest, produced in partnership with Amazon Partnerships Foundation with HD on-location filming and post-production editing.
• Teens Get Real One-hour documentary featuring interviews with 900 teens about real issues, broadcast on The WB Network as the first documentary special aired by the network, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 Emmy Awards won, 6 nominations
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Teaching ChannelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Partnership with Gates Foundation-funded Teaching Channel to produce over 200 short educational videos for K-12 teacher training. Many videos compiled into 20-hour series broadcast on PBS. Work from 2009-2012. Videos focused on excellence in teaching, classroom strategies, and practical lesson plans.
• Bull Frog FilmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEducational distributor handling sales and distribution of Soldiers of Conscience to schools and educational institutions.
• Journeyman TVcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for Soldiers of Conscience, handling global distribution to television networks worldwide.
• Teen People MagazineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation with Teen People Magazine for production of Teens Get Real documentary.
• Johnson & JohnsonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for Teens Get Real broadcast on WB Network.
• HarperCollinsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing partner for Mother-Daughter photo book to accompany TV broadcast of The Story of Mothers and Daughters documentary.
• KodakminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFirst sponsor for The Story of Mothers and Daughters, providing initial funding after pitch reel presentation.
• Amazon Partnerships Foundation (APF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to produce Virdi Samay (Life and Breath), the first documentary ever made in Kichwa language, about tribal efforts to preserve Amazon rainforest. Luna Productions commissioned for 6-day HD shoot and 4-week edit.
• Seventh Generation FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 10-minute video for Seventh Generation Fund about cultural healing concepts for positive health-care outcomes, used as tool to convey Native American culturally specific concepts to funders.
• BAWCC (Bay Area Women's and Children's Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for over 15 years, producing and updating anniversary videos every 5 years for the Tenderloin neighborhood organization in San Francisco.
• Earth JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced tribute video for retiring executive director Buck Parker, used as fundraising tool for the environmental legal organization.
• Women's Foundation of CaliforniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 25th anniversary gala video that resulted in over $300,000 raised. Also produced Migrant Photography Project excerpt.
• Center for Youth Development through Law (CYDL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 25-minute documentary about summer legal fellowship program for at-risk teens, in cooperation with UC Berkeley School of Law.
• The California EndowmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned video explaining the $3 billion health care non-profit's history and journey to health equity.
• CuriOdysseyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced fundraising video for children's science museum in San Mateo, California.
• Brotherhood Crusade & BABUFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced organizational profile video as part of Focused Funds Program evaluation for The California Endowment's health care initiatives.
• Berkeley Public Schools FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced pro bono short documentary about BPSF's response to COVID-19 pandemic and support for public schools during initial shutdown.
• APALC (Asian Pacific American Legal Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfile video for Boundary Crossing Leadership training program featured in APALC organizational profile.
• Connie Field / Clarity FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Weimberg worked as editor on Have You Heard From Johannesburg, 7-part documentary series about anti-apartheid movement. Contributed to multiple episodes over nearly 10 years of production.
• Dan Geller & Dayna GoldfinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Weimberg co-edited and co-wrote Ballets Russes documentary with Geller and Goldfine. Ballets Russes became #1 documentary hit at US box office.
• Bill Couturie / HBOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Weimberg was co-editor on Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, produced and directed by Bill Couturie for HBO. Film won 2 Emmys and was first documentary screened at Cannes.
• Marilyn MulfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Weimberg was editor and co-writer on Chicano Park documentary, helping complete 10-year production.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ITVS (Independent Television Service): Major public-media producer and distributor of independent documentary content for PBS. Larger and more institutionalized than Luna, but operates in the same documentary/public-broadcasting space.
• Participant Media: Larger impact-media company producing socially conscious documentaries and feature films. Overlaps in mission-driven storytelling but operates at substantially greater scale with broader distribution.

Direct peers

• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based independent documentary production company with a similar social-issues focus and nonprofit/educational client base. Comparable scale and mission-driven production model make it the closest direct peer.
• Dogwoof: Specialized documentary sales agent and distributor focused on award-winning social-issue films. Similar niche focus on impact-driven documentary distribution to festivals, broadcast, and streaming.
• Actual Films: Independent documentary production company founded by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, producing award-winning social-impact documentaries for PBS, broadcast, and streaming. Closely matches Luna's broadcast/awards-driven model.
• Passion Pictures: Award-winning documentary and feature production company known for socially impactful films. Similar in producing primetime broadcast documentaries and winning major industry awards.

Others

• Bullfrog Films: Educational documentary distributor that handles Luna's content into schools and libraries. Distribution partner rather than direct competitor, but operates in the same impact-documentary ecosystem.
• Journeyman Pictures: International documentary distributor handling Luna's global distribution rights. Partner rather than competitor, but functions as a critical channel in the same documentary value chain.

Emerging players

• Seventh Generation Media: Small independent production house producing social-issue and indigenous-rights documentary content. Overlaps with Luna's nonprofit/mission-driven client base but at smaller scale.
• Moxie Firecracker Films: Independent documentary production company producing character-driven, socially relevant films for broadcast and streaming. Comparable scale and broadcast-platform focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/luna-productions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Luna Productions