Making Movies Oy

What Making Movies Oy does

Making Movies Oy is a Helsinki-based, privately held independent film production company founded in 1996, co-owned by CEO/producer Kai Nordberg and producer Kaarle Aho, with a five-person core team. The company produces feature films, documentaries, television drama series, short films, and transmedia projects, with acclaimed titles including the Academy Award-shortlisted The Fencer (2015) and Golden Globe-nominated Little Wing (2016), alongside recent theatrical releases such as My Sailor, My Love (2022, 120,000+ Finnish viewers) and Heavier Trip (2024, released in Germany and Japan). Its portfolio of 70+ productions has screened at Venice, Berlinale, Toronto, Sundance, and Tribeca, and has been distributed in Finland, the UK and Ireland, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, and Japan through territory-specific partners including Nordisk Film, B-Plan Distribution, Signature, Music Box Films, and King Records, with CAT&Docs handling international sales for documentary titles.

The company's commercial model is project-based: revenue is generated through production fees, co-production financing arrangements, government and regional film fund grants (Eurimages, Business Finland, the Finnish Film Foundation), festival prize money, and territory-by-territory distribution licensing. Beyond traditional film, Making Movies has begun building a transmedia capability through a strategic partnership with Dreamloop Games to develop the ALMA IP in parallel as a video game and a feature film, and participates in the Business Finland-funded SmartSuccessAV consortium with Aalto University (2025–2027) to research cross-sector collaboration models in creative industries. International co-productions span partners in Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, France, and India, and the company has begun opening a Finnish–Indian co-production corridor through Waves Film Bazaar in Goa.

Making Movies is fundamentally an IP and creative-relations business: its competitive position rests on a 30-year reputation, longstanding relationships with directors such as Klaus Härö, Tonislav Hristov, and AJ Annila, established multi-territory distribution channels, and award-validation in a festival-driven market. The transmedia and academic-consortium initiatives signal a deliberate strategy to broaden revenue beyond theatrical distribution into gaming-adjacent IP and research-backed business models, while maintaining a lean operational structure.

Name

Making Movies Oy

Legal name

Making Movies Oy

Website

https://mamo.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Making Movies Oy is a Helsinki-based independent film production company founded in 1996 that produces feature films, documentaries, TV drama, short films, and transmedia projects for international audiences, distributed across Europe, North America, and Asia through territory-specific partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Film Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Scripted Feature Film Production (Live-Action) (MPADABAA)

Keywords

• Feature film production
• Documentary production
• Television drama series
• International film distribution
• Transmedia ip development

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Film & TV Production Revenue: Revenue is generated through production fees, co-production financing arrangements, government and regional film fund grants (e.g., Eurimages, Business Finland), festival awards and prize money, and theatrical distribution revenues shared with distributors. Films are sold internationally to distributors in various territories.
2. International Distribution Sales: Films are licensed for distribution to territory-specific distributors. Recent examples include My Sailor, My Love sold to UK (Signature), US (Music Box Films), Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, and Germany. CAT&Docs handles international sales for some titles.
3. Transmedia / Game IP Licensing: The company develops multi-platform IP (such as ALMA) into video games and feature films in parallel, creating additional licensing and revenue opportunities through game development partnerships.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Making Movies is an independent film production company that develops, produces, and co-produces feature films, documentaries, TV drama series, short films, and transmedia projects. The company finances productions through co-production partnerships, government and regional film fund grants, and international sales, premiering work at major film festivals before licensing finished titles to territorial distributors across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Product overview

Making Movies Oy is a film production company offering a portfolio of audio-visual content products: feature films, documentaries, TV drama series, short films, and transmedia projects. The company operates as a unified production house producing and distributing these content offerings across international film festivals, theatrical releases, and streaming platforms. The transmedia initiative (ALMA project) represents a new direction combining film and game IP development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Feature Films Full-length theatrical feature films produced by Making Movies, spanning drama, comedy, thriller, and other genres. Acclaimed examples include The Fencer, Little Wing, My Sailor My Love, Heavier Trip, and Blue Baby, distributed to cinema audiences worldwide.
• Documentaries Documentary film productions covering diverse subjects, often produced as international co-productions. Examples include Truth or Dare, Geri's Wish, 11 Underground, The Good Postman, and Tukdam.
• TV Drama Series

Quantifiable outcome

• My Sailor, My Love achieved 120,000+ viewers in Finnish cinemas; 600,000+ cumulative viewers across Klaus Härö's six films in Finland
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Aalto UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Academic research partner in the SmartSuccessAV consortium. The project explores how success in the film and audiovisual sector is shaped by changing production, financing, and distribution structures, bringing together academic researchers and companies across the value chain.
• Momentum FilmsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2025Co-producer of Sands of Sarasvati alongside Making Movies. The project was featured at Waves Film Bazaar in Goa as a case study for deepening Finnish-Indian collaboration.
• Helsinki Film LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2025Partnered with Making Movies at Waves Film Bazaar in Goa to explore new avenues for creative partnerships and cross-border storytelling between Finland and India.
• Return EntertainmentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2025Finnish entertainment company that partnered with Making Movies at Waves Film Bazaar in Goa for cross-border storytelling initiatives.
• Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 November 2025Supported the Waves Film Bazaar event in Goa where Sands of Sarasvati was presented, facilitating Finnish-Indian film and AV industry dialogue.
• Consulate General of Finland in MumbaiminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 November 2025Supported Finnish-Indian collaboration at Waves Film Bazaar in Goa where Making Movies presented Sands of Sarasvati.
• Dreamloop GamescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Making Movies and Dreamloop Games are developing ALMA, a multi-platform IP, into both a video game and a feature film in parallel. The collaboration began at the SHINE! pitching event in Turku. The project is facilitated by Film Tampere and is exploring game platform options for the prototype.
• SoulFood (Bulgaria)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBulgarian co-production partner for Truth or Dare documentary. SoulFood is a production company based in Bulgaria.
• Cinenic Film (Sweden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish co-production partner for Truth or Dare documentary.
• UpNorthFilm (Norway)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian co-production partner for Truth or Dare documentary.
• Triart Film (Sweden)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwedish distributor for The Andersson Brothers documentary in Sweden.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SF Studios: Swedish film and TV production and distribution company operating across features, series, and international co-productions. A broader Nordic incumbent competing for similar talent, festivals, and distribution windows.
• A24: US-based arthouse-leaning production and distribution company with elite festival pedigree (Palme d'Or, Academy Awards). Overlaps with Making Movies in arthouse sensibility and festival positioning, though materially larger and globally scaled.
• Nordisk Film Production: Largest Nordic production and distribution group; both a customer (Finnish distributor of Making Movies titles) and a broader incumbent across the same feature-film and distribution categories. Useful as a scale benchmark rather than a direct competitor for arthouse features.

Direct peers

• Final Cut for Real: Copenhagen-based independent production company producing internationally awarded documentaries and feature films. Closely aligned with Making Movies in format mix (documentary-heavy, festival-driven) and Nordic footprint.
• Topkapi Films: Dutch independent arthouse film production company with strong international festival pedigree and a comparable mix of arthouse features and documentaries. One of the most directly comparable small European production houses.
• Snowglobe Films: Danish independent production company producing arthouse features and series with international co-production partners. Comparable in size, sensibility, and reliance on international financing.
• Anagram Film: Scandinavian (Sweden / Norway) independent production company producing festival-circuit features and documentaries with European co-production partners. Similar business model and target festival circuit.
• Bufo: Finnish independent film production company producing arthouse-leaning features and documentaries with international festival exposure. Closely comparable in scale, sensibility, and target audience.
• Sputnik Oy: Helsinki-based independent Finnish film and documentary production company with similar size and a comparable portfolio of festival-oriented features and documentaries. The closest domestic production peer to Making Movies.

Emerging players

• LevelK: Copenhagen-based international sales agent that licenses arthouse features and documentaries to global territories — analogous in function to Making Movies' CAT&Docs partnership, making it a structural peer in the value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/making-movies-oy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Making Movies Oy