Urban Factory
Urban Factory is a Paris-based film production company (founded 2011) that produces and co-produces independent feature films and documentaries with international directors and distributes them via its Urban Group affiliates through festival premieres, theatrical release, VOD/DVD and international sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Urban Factory does
Urban Factory is a Paris-based independent film production company founded in 2011 as part of the Urban Group conglomerate, controlled by founder and president Frédéric Corvez. The company specializes in producing and co-producing feature films and documentaries with directors from more than a dozen countries—including Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco, Belgium, Switzerland, Peru, Mexico, India, the Philippines, Afghanistan, and Canada—without genre or budget constraints. Its catalog contains roughly 20 titles spanning fiction features, documentaries and shorts, and is distributed through affiliated Urban Group entities: Urban Distribution for French theatrical release, UDI for international sales, Reservoir Docs for documentary sales, Urban Boutiq for VOD/DVD e-commerce, and Gomedia for post-production services.
The core operating model combines professional-services revenue (production and co-production fees, pre-sales, and distribution agreements) with one-time-license revenue (VOD/DVD unit sales through Urban Boutiq and theatrical release in France) and licensing royalties from international sales agent activities through UDI and Reservoir Docs. The go-to-market motion is explicitly event-driven, with film festival premieres—particularly Cannes—functioning as the primary commercial trigger before films flow into theatrical, VOD/DVD and international licensing channels. Three consecutive Cannes Un Certain Regard selections (Plan 75 in 2022, If Only I Could Hibernate in 2023, The Shameless in 2024), a Cannes Best Actress award in 2024, and Mongolia's Oscar 2025 submission indicate a sustained run of curatorial recognition on the international festival circuit.
Underlying technology is standard film production and post-production tooling with no proprietary AI, data, or platform differentiation beyond Gomedia's editing services. The customer base is horizontal across film industry professionals—festival programmers, theatrical distributors, VOD platforms, DVD retailers, and international sales agents—with no disclosed anchor buyer or enterprise contract. Funding is sourced from European institutional partners (Eurimages, Creative Europe Media, Île-de France Region, Swiss Films) on a per-project basis rather than from institutional equity or venture capital, consistent with the company's positioning as a boutique production entity within a privately controlled conglomerate.
Urban Factory firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban Factory
- Legal name
- Urban Distribution
- Website
- https://urbanfactory.biz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Urban Factory is a Paris-based film production company (founded 2011) that produces and co-produces independent feature films and documentaries with international directors and distributes them via its Urban Group affiliates through festival premieres, theatrical release, VOD/DVD and international sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Urban Factory is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Urban Factory business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Film Production & Co-production: Urban Factory produces and co-produces feature films and documentaries from international directors, working with partners across multiple countries. Revenue comes from production financing, pre-sales, and distribution agreements.
- Film Distribution: Distribution through theatrical releases in France and internationally, VOD and DVD sales via their Urban Boutiq e-commerce platform.
- International Sales (UDI/Reservoir Docs): International sales agent services through their UDI (Urban Distribution International) and Reservoir Docs divisions for worldwide film licensing and distribution agreements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
Urban Factory product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Urban Factory is a film production and co-production company founded in 2011 in Paris that produces feature films and documentaries from international directors without constraints of genre or budget. The company develops projects with directors worldwide, raises production financing, and distributes finished films through its affiliated companies (Urban Distribution for French theatrical release, UDI for international sales, Urban Boutiq for VOD/DVD sales, and Reservoir Docs for documentary distribution).
Product overview
Urban Factory is a film production company founded in 2011 that produces films from directors worldwide without genre or budget constraints. The company operates a diverse catalog of feature films, documentaries, and short films spanning multiple countries and genres. Their portfolio includes award-winning international co-productions with notable festival premieres at Cannes, Locarno, Rotterdam, and other major film festivals. The company's films are distributed through its affiliated companies including Urban Distribution for French theatrical release, UDI for international sales, and Urban Boutiq for VOD/DVD sales.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Shameless Feature film directed by Konstantin Bojanov, a coproduction between France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Taiwan, and India, premiered at Festival de Cannes 2024.
- If Only I Could Hibernate (Si seulement je pouvais hiberner) Feature film directed by Zoljargal Purevdash, a coproduction between France and Mongolia, premiered at Festival de Cannes 2023.
- Plan 75 Feature film directed by Chie Hayakawa, a coproduction between Japan, France, and Philippines, premiered at Festival de Cannes 2022.
- Isabel Feature film directed by Gabe Klinger, a coproduction with RT Features (Brazil), set in the contemporary gastronomy world of São Paulo.
- Dream of Grape Gardens Documentary directed by Sahra Mani about Afghan displacement during the Soviet-Afghan war, following a mother's and daughter's intertwined stories.
- Mon traître (My Traitor) Feature film directed by Santiago Amigorena, adaptation of Sorj Chalandon's novels about betrayal and the IRA.
- Sima's Song (La chanson de Sima) Film directed by Roya Sadat about two friends in pre-civil war Afghanistan whose friendship is tested by political conflict.
- Ghosts of the Sea (Les enfants du large) Documentary directed by Virginia Tangvald, coproduced with micro_scope and ONF (Canada), about the filmmaker's investigation into her adventurer father's mysterious life and deaths.
- Francesca et l'Amour (Francesca i l'Amor) Documentary directed by Alba Sotorra about a Barcelona artist in her 60s searching for love through Tinder.
- Good Manners (Les Bonnes Manières) Brazilian genre film directed by Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, won multiple awards including Locarno Jury Prize 2017.
- El Mudo Peruvian-Mexican-French film directed by Daniel and Diego Vega about a judge investigating a near-fatal shooting.
- Il nous reste la colère (Ford Blanquefort) Documentary directed by Jamila Jendari and Nicolas Beirnaert following Ford factory workers' fight to save their plant in Blanquefort, France.
- The Benefit of the Doubt (Une part d'ombre) Belgian-French thriller directed by Samuel Tilman about a professor suspected of murder.
- Mobile Home Belgian-French-Luxembourg coproduction directed by François Pirot about two friends who decide to travel in a camper van.
- Incident Light (La Luz Incidente) Argentinian-French period drama directed by Ariel Rotter set in 1960s Argentina, premiered at IFF Rotterdam 2016.
Quantifiable outcome
- Three consecutive films selected at Cannes (Plan 75 in 2022, If Only I Could Hibernate in 2023, The Shameless in 2024)
Companies that use Urban Factory
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Urban Factory technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Urban Factory partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Akka FilmscoreSwiss production company, co-producer of The Shameless (2024) directed by Konstantin Bojanov - a key co-production partnership for major Cannes-selected films
- Klas FilmcoreBulgarian production company, co-producer of The Shameless (2024)
- House On Fire ProductionscoreFrench-Taiwanese production company, co-producer of The Shameless (2024)
- TPHQ (Teamo Productions)coreIndian production company, co-producer of The Shameless (2024)
- micro_scopecoreCanadian production company, co-producer of Les enfants du large (2024) documentary
- Office national du film du Canada (ONF)coreCanadian national film board, co-producer of Les enfants du large (2024) documentary
- Loaded Films Ltd.coreJapanese production company, co-producer of Plan 75 (2022) directed by Chie Hayakawa - a Cannes-selected and award-winning film
- FuseecoreJapanese production company, co-producer of Plan 75
- WOWOWcoreJapanese broadcaster and production company, co-producer of Plan 75
- RT FeaturescoreBrazilian production company, co-producer of Isabel (2025) directed by Gabe Klinger
- Daluyong StudioscorePhilippine production company, co-producer of Dream of Grape Gardens documentary
- Afghanistan Doc Film HousecoreAfghan documentary production company, co-producer of Dream of Grape Gardens
- RaffutcoreFrench production company, co-producer of Il nous reste la colère documentary about Ford Blanquefort workers
- Reservoir DocscoreInternational documentary sales company, part of Urban Group, handles worldwide documentary distribution
- UDI (Urban Distribution International)coreInternational sales agent division of Urban Group, handles worldwide sales for feature films
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Urban Factory competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wide Management: Paris-based international sales agent for auteur and arthouse cinema, regularly screening films at Cannes and other top festivals; direct competitive overlap with UDI/Urban Factory's international sales business.
- Memento Films International: French international sales agent and producer focused on auteur films, closely overlapping with Urban Factory's role in selling and co-producing international arthouse titles to global buyers.
- Pyramide Films: French independent production, distribution, and international sales company with a similar mix of auteur filmmaking, theatrical distribution, and worldwide sales.
- The Match Factory: Leading European international sales and distribution company for arthouse films, comparable in business model to UDI/Urban Factory's international sales activity for festival-bound auteur titles.
- Le Pacte: French independent production and distribution company focused on arthouse cinema, with theatrical distribution and international sales arms parallel to Urban Distribution/UDI.
- Playtime (formerly Funny Balloons): Paris-based international sales and production company representing French and European arthouse filmmakers at festivals and markets; competes for similar co-production partners.
- Films Boutique: Berlin-based international sales agent handling arthouse and festival-driven cinema, competing for the same directors and festival slots that Urban Factory targets.
- Celluloid Dreams: Paris-based international sales agent and production company for arthouse and auteur cinema. Founder Frédéric Corvez previously worked at Celluloid Dreams, making it a direct comparable in international arthouse film sales and co-production.
Broad incumbents
- Studio Canal: Major European film production, distribution, and sales subsidiary of Canal+, where founder Corvez previously worked. Operates broadly across genres and budgets, dwarfing Urban Factory in scale but overlapping in arthouse acquisition.
- MK2 Films: Long-standing French arthouse production, distribution, and sales company; much larger and broader portfolio, but comparable in core activity of auteur film distribution where founder Corvez previously worked.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks2 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Urban Factory social profiles
Digital presenceUrban Factory financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban Factory leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Urban Factory subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Urban Factory funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban Factory M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Urban Factory
What does Urban Factory do?
Urban Factory is a film production and co-production company founded in 2011 in Paris that produces feature films and documentaries from international directors without constraints of genre or budget. The company develops projects with directors worldwide, raises production financing, and distributes finished films through its affiliated companies (Urban Distribution for French theatrical release, UDI for international sales, Urban Boutiq for VOD/DVD sales, and Reservoir Docs for documentary distribution).
Is Urban Factory a public or private company?
Urban Factory is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Urban Factory founded?
Urban Factory was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Urban Factory based?
Urban Factory is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Urban Factory make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Film Production & Co-production is the primary driver. The others are film Distribution and international Sales (UDI/Reservoir Docs).
Who are Urban Factory's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wide Management, Memento Films International, Pyramide Films, The Match Factory, Le Pacte, Playtime (formerly Funny Balloons), Films Boutique and Celluloid Dreams. Broad incumbents are Studio Canal and MK2 Films.
Does Urban Factory have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban Factory.