Name

Spring Films Ltd

Legal name

Spring Films Ltd

Website

https://springfilms.tv

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Feature-Length Documentaries (MPADADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC), Distribution Strategy & Release Planning (MPADAAAL)

Keywords

• Documentary production services
• Feature film production
• International co-productions
• Television documentaries
• Award-winning documentaries

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, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Broadcast Licensing: Spring Films produces documentaries that are licensed to television broadcasters including BBC, Channel 4, HBO, Sky, A&E Networks, and international public broadcasters. Revenue is generated through licensing fees for broadcast rights.
2. Streaming Platform Distribution: Content is licensed to and co-produced with streaming platforms including Netflix, Discovery+, and Apple TV+ for distribution to subscribers.
3. International Co-productions: Co-production agreements with international partners including ARTE (France/Germany), MDR (Germany), and other European broadcasters to share production costs and distribution rights.
4. Theatrical Releases: Feature documentaries receive theatrical releases (e.g., The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence, Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer) generating box office and enhanced prestige that boosts subsequent broadcast/streaming value.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Spring Films Ltd is a London-based production company that develops and produces high-end feature-length and television documentaries, often as international co-productions. The company secures commissions from broadcasters and streaming platforms, partners with celebrated auteurs such as Werner Herzog and Joshua Oppenheimer, and delivers finished documentary content for television broadcast, theatrical release, and global streaming distribution.

Product overview

Spring Films Ltd is an Oscar-nominated, Emmy Award-winning London-based production company specializing in high-end feature and television documentaries. The company does not operate a unified software product or platform; rather, its 'products and services' are its portfolio of documentary films and series distributed across television, cinema, streaming platforms, and multi-media formats. The portfolio includes individual feature documentaries (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence, Into the Inferno, Night Will Fall, Meeting Gorbachev), documentary series (Prison, Prison Series 2, Death Row, Secrets of the Imperial War Museum), and streaming original content (Last Exit: Space for Discovery+, Fireball for Apple TV+, Into the Inferno for Netflix). Distribution partners include Netflix, Channel 4, BBC, HBO, Apple TV+, Discovery+, A+E Networks, Sky, ITV, BFI, and ARTE. The company has received Academy Award nominations, Emmy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Peabody Awards, and Grierson Trust Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Act of Killing Oscar-nominated feature documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer co-produced with Spring Films exploring perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide. Licensed to distributors for theatrical and broadcast release.
• The Look of Silence Oscar-nominated feature documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer following an optometrist confronting the men who killed his brother during the 1965 Indonesian genocide. Won Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival.
• Night Will Fall Feature documentary about the liberation of German concentration camps, featuring archive footage and work of Sidney Bernstein, Richard Crossman, and Alfred Hitchcock. Won Emmy Award, Peabody Award, and Royal Television Society Award.
• Into the Inferno Feature documentary with Werner Herzog and volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer exploring active volcanoes across North Korea, Ethiopia, Iceland, and Vanuatu. Distributed via Netflix.
• Meeting Gorbachev Feature documentary by Werner Herzog and André Singer chronicling Mikhail Gorbachev's rise from farm boy to Soviet President and his role in ending the Cold War. Distributed via A+E Networks, MDR, ARTE.
• Prison (Series 1) Three-part documentary series with exclusive access to HMP Durham prison capturing issues of drug epidemics, violence, and mental health. 3 x 1 hour for Channel 4. BAFTA nominated.
• Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds Feature documentary by Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer exploring meteorites, shooting stars, and craters across continents, including research in Antarctica and Aboriginal Australia. Distributed via Apple TV+.
• Prison Series 2 Multi-award-winning documentary series examining women's prison HMP Foston Hall, following the original Prison series on men's prison HMP Durham. 3 x 1 hour series for Channel 4.
• Last Exit: Space Feature documentary exploring planetary exploration and humanity's potential future home beyond Earth, directed by Rudolph Herzog and narrated by Werner Herzog. Streaming on Discovery+.
• Beneath the Surface BBC Storyville documentary exposing generations of negligence and abuse affecting indigenous Sámi people in Norway, following a court case against systemic racism.
• Secrets of the Imperial War Museum Six-part series with exclusive access to over 33 million historical treasures and 23,000 hours of rare film footage at the Imperial War Museum. 6 x 1 hour for Channel 5.
• Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer Feature documentary profiling iconic filmmaker Werner Herzog, offering behind-the-scenes footage, rare archive material and interviews with collaborators including Christian Bale and Nicole Kidman. Distributed via BFI Player.
• India's 1st Best Trans Model Agency Seven-year documentary following Rudrani Chettri and the transgender community of Delhi as they establish India's first trans modeling agency. Premiered at BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.
• The Hayemaker: Portrait of a Fighter Documentary following former unified world cruiserweight champion David Haye through experimental surgery and training for a comeback, filmed over 5 years with 900 hours of intimate access.
• The Two Lives of Li Ermao Feature documentary filmed over 17 years following transgender migrant worker Li Ermao through transitions and identity struggles in Southern China. Screened at IDFA.
• One Night in Al-Aqsa Feature documentary exploring the Al Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem set against the Night of Power, the holiest night in the Islamic calendar.
• A Mother Brings Her Son To Be Shot Feature documentary following five years of filming in Derry, Northern Ireland, exploring post-conflict society. Nominated for CPH:DOX F:ACT Award and Belfast Film Festival Maysles Award.
• City 40 Feature documentary smuggling film crew into a Soviet-era Russian city with nuclear fissile materials stockpile. Emmy nominated. Distributed via Netflix.
• They Will Have to Kill us First Documentary following Malian musicians fighting back against jihadist music ban after 2012 takeover, featuring Music in Exile.
• Death Row Four-part documentary series with Werner Herzog in discussions with Death Row prisoners in Florida and Texas, accompanying theatrical film Into the Abyss.
• Into the Abyss Werner Herzog documentary exploring capital punishment through stories of two young men convicted of triple murder. Winner of Grierson Award at London Film Festival.
• How To Stay Out Of Jail Documentary following an elite police team in County Durham offering offenders a 16-week reform scheme to avoid prison. 1 hour for Channel 4.

Quantifiable outcome

• Two Oscar nominations (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Werner Herzog FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing co-production partnership with Werner Herzog for documentary features including Into the Inferno, Meeting Gorbachev, Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, and Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer. Werner Herzog is a celebrated auteur filmmaker whose involvement brings prestige and international distribution appeal.
• NetflixcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary streaming distribution partner for feature documentaries including Into the Inferno. Netflix provides global distribution platform and promotional support for Spring Films productions.
• BBCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK public broadcaster commissioning and distributing documentaries including Bollywood and Beyond, Beneath the Surface. Long-standing relationship for premium documentary content.
• Channel 4coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK broadcaster commissioning documentary series including the multi-award-winning Prison series. Ongoing commissioning relationship for social issue documentaries.
• ARTEcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEuropean Franco-German public broadcaster and co-production partner for documentaries including Into the Inferno, Meeting Gorbachev, and Night Will Fall. Provides international co-production funding and European distribution.
• HBOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS premium cable network broadcasting Night Will Fall. Provides access to US market and prestigious platform for documentary content.
• Apple TV+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming distribution partner for Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds. Apple Original Productions partnership providing global streaming reach.
• Discovery+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStreaming distribution partner for Last Exit: Space. Gunpowder & Sky, Spring Films and Taglicht Media production for Discovery+ Original.
• CinephilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for Night Will Fall alongside Spring Films, Angel TV, BFI, and Ratpac Entertainment. Assists with international sales and festival distribution.
• D.I.G. FilmsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company behind City 40, co-produced with Spring Films and Cinephil. Samira Goetschel directed this Netflix-released documentary.
• Blinder FilmsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIrish production company co-producing A Mother Brings Her Son To Be Shot with Spring Films. Sinéad O'Shea directed this acclaimed documentary.
• BFIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBritish Film Institute co-produced Night Will Fall and provides distribution support through BFI Distribution for Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer.
• MedieoperatøreneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian production company co-producing Beneath the Surface with Spring Films for BBC Storyville and NRK Norway.
• Red Face FilmsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company behind One Night in Al-Aqsa, co-produced with Spring Films. Abrar Hussain directed this documentary on the Al Aqsa Compound.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Blakeway Productions: UK documentary producer with deep BBC and Channel 4 commissioning relationships and similar feature/series hybrid slate. Directly comparable business model and broadcaster buyer mix.
• Dogwoof: UK-based independent documentary distributor and producer with a comparable Oscar-tilted slate. Both companies compete for the same premium documentary filmmakers and sell into the same global broadcaster/streamer buyer base.
• Pulse Films: London-based production company spanning documentary features and premium series for streamers. Comparable customer base (Netflix, BBC, Channel 4) and premium positioning.
• Final Cut for Real: Danish Oscar-winning documentary producer (The Look of Silence co-producer with Spring Films). Comparable focus on auteur-driven, festival-grade documentaries sold into the same global platform buyer base.
• Dogstar Productions: UK-based independent documentary producer focused on premium international co-productions and festival-circuit features. Closely comparable model of UK-led, internationally-financed documentary production.
• KEO Films: London-based indie producer of high-end documentaries and feature films for broadcasters and streamers. Closely comparable in size, UK footprint, and commissioning relationships with Channel 4, BBC, and Netflix.
• Passion Pictures: Award-winning London documentary and animation producer known for feature docs such as Searching for Sugar Man. Comparable award pedigree, premium broadcaster/streamer relationships, and UK indie production model.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Studios Documentary Unit: BBC's in-house production arm and a long-standing commissioning buyer of Spring Films content. Represents the vertically-integrated incumbent competing for the same documentary talent and global distribution slots.
• Fremantle: Global production and distribution group producing premium documentaries and series for international buyers. Overlaps with Spring Films in the premium documentary category but at much larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Vice Media Docs: Producer of premium feature documentaries and series distributed globally via streaming platforms. Competes for the same commissioning and licensing slots as Spring Films but with broader subject-matter range.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spring-films-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Spring Films Ltd