Tessa Films

What Tessa Films does

Tessa Films is a privately held, full-service film and video production company founded in 2018 by Executive Producer Lisa Masseur and headquartered in Chicago, with a second office in Los Angeles. The company operates a curated bench of 10 directors and three collaborator studios covering commercial spots, branded content, feature films, short films, music videos, documentaries, and original comedy. Its roster's work has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (the Showtime-acquired pilot "Work in Progress," 2018), earned Emmy and VMA nominations, and won Cannes Lions and D&AD recognition across both director profiles and brand campaigns.

The company's core offering is project-based creative production: agencies, brands, and entertainment channels engage Tessa Films to direct, produce, and deliver finished content through one of its directors or collaborators, with end-to-end handling from concept through post. Tessa does not publish pricing; engagements are quote-based and sized per project based on scope, talent, and deliverables. Distribution is a hybrid direct-sales and rep model — Lisa Masseur and Amy McIntyre (Executive Producer / Head of Sales, joined 2022) lead direct enterprise engagement with a Chicago/LA base, while four third-party regional sales representatives cover the East Coast (Kelly Flint, Sarah Lange), Texas (Alyson Griffith), and West Coast (Lisa Schreiber Naber).

The company's named customer base spans automotive (Allstate, Chevy, Cadillac, Porsche, Taco Bell via campaign work), food and beverage (Kraft, Liquid Death, McDonald's, Burger King, Red Bull), technology and telecom (T-Mobile, Dyson, Lenovo, Google, Walmart), entertainment networks (Showtime, Prime Video, CNN Films, Disney, Nick Jr.), and nonprofit/public-sector clients (National Kidney Foundation, Chicago Department of Public Health). Ownership appears founder- and bootstrapped, with no institutional investment, acquisitions, or parent-company relationships disclosed in the source data. Tessa Films is positioned as a Midwest-cost-base creative alternative to coastal production companies, competing on director quality and end-to-end project execution.

Name

Tessa Films

Legal name

Tessa Films

Website

https://tessafilms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tessa Films is a privately held, Chicago- and Los Angeles-based full-service film and video production company founded in 2018. It serves agencies, brands, and entertainment channels through a curated roster of 10 directors plus three collaborator studios, producing commercials, branded content, features, shorts, music videos, and documentaries on a project-based, quote-priced model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Video Production Services

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Branded Documentary / Nonfiction (Corporate & NGO) (MPADADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Feature-Length Documentaries (MPADADAA), Historical, Biographical & Archival Documentaries (MPADADAE)

Keywords

• Film production services
• Commercial production
• Branded content
• Documentary production
• Creative production company

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commercial and Branded Content Production: Tessa Films produces commercial spots, branded content, and entertainment content for agencies, brands, and entertainment channels. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for production services, with pricing determined per project based on scope, talent, and production requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tessa Films is a Chicago-based creative production company that develops and produces commercial spots, branded content, feature films, short films, music videos, documentaries, and original comedy. The company operates through a roster of 10 directors and 3 external collaborator studios, providing full-service production from concept through final delivery for agencies, brands, and entertainment channels.

Product overview

Tessa Films is a creative production company that operates as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company provides film and video production services for agencies, brands, and entertainment channels through its roster of directors. Their portfolio includes feature films, award-winning shorts, music videos, documentaries, original comedy, and branded content campaigns. Notable productions include the Showtime-acquired pilot "Work in Progress" (premiered at Sundance 2018), the documentary series "HIV and the Journey Toward Zero," and the festival-circuit short film "A Real One." Tessa Films also offers commercial and branded content production, with recent campaigns such as the "LIVING DONOR!" PSA campaign in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Spots Production Production of advertising commercials for major brands and agencies, including quick-turnaround scripted spots delivered in under one week.
• Branded Content Production Production of branded content campaigns for agencies and major brands across multiple verticals.
• Feature Film and Documentary Production Development and production of long-form entertainment content including feature films, short films, series pilots, and documentaries acquired by networks such as Showtime, CNN Films, and Prime Video.
• LIVING DONOR! PSA Campaign A PSA campaign using humor to address the critical shortage of living kidney donors, produced in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation for public health awareness.
• Director Roster Services Access to a roster of 10 directors plus 3 collaborator studios spanning diverse styles from lifestyle/auto to high-concept comedy to documentary storytelling, providing clients with diverse director talent under one roof.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pilot "Work in Progress" premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2018 and was subsequently acquired by Showtime
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers22 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

One partnership is on record.

• National Kidney FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Partnership between Tessa Films and National Kidney Foundation to launch the "LIVING DONOR!" PSA campaign during Donate Life Month (April 2026). The campaign uses humor to address the critical shortage of living kidney donors and features award-winning filmmaker Melissa Silverman, who was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2021 and is currently on the transplant waiting list. The initiative aims to educate the public about living kidney donation and empower patients to advocate for themselves.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MJZ: Premium commercial production company with a roster of award-winning directors. Directly comparable to Tessa's roster model and Fortune 500 brand book, particularly in automotive and tech categories.
• Anonymous Content: Independent production company producing commercials, branded content, and long-form film/TV. Directly comparable to Tessa in serving major brands and entertainment buyers with a director-driven roster across commercial and prestige content.
• RESET Content: Independent production company for commercials, branded content, and entertainment. Directly comparable roster-driven commercial/entertainment model, with a brand-client book overlapping Tessa's advertisers and entertainment channels.
• Park Pictures: Bicoastal commercial and long-form production company with a director-driven roster. Comparable in serving major brands and entertainment clients with crossover entertainment projects.
• Caviar: Global production company producing commercials, branded content, and feature films. Directly comparable in director-talent model and brand-client list spanning CPG, automotive, and entertainment.
• Epoch Films: Long-standing commercial and entertainment production company. Comparable in delivering both Tier-1 brand campaigns and longer-form creative work, with a deep director roster.
• Smuggler: Globally distributed production company for commercials, music videos, and short films. Directly comparable director-talent model and brand-client roster across automotive, CPG, and tech.
• PRETTYBIRD: Director-led production company producing commercials, music videos, and branded content. Comparable roster-driven model and brand-client book (similar Tier-1 advertisers and entertainment partners).
• Radical Media: Independent creative production company spanning commercials, documentaries, and feature films. Closely comparable in dual commercial/entertainment model and brand of prestige nonfiction work (CNN, Showtime-tier).
• Tool of North America: Director-driven commercial and content production company. Comparable in serving major brands with award-winning roster talent and crossover into music-video and entertainment work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TessaFilms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tessafilms
• Instagraminstagram.com/Tessa.Films

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 Tessa Films