Insurgent Projects Inc.

What Insurgent Projects Inc. does

Insurgent Projects Inc. is a Toronto-based independent documentary production studio founded in 2009 by filmmakers Derreck Roemer and Neil Graham. The studio produces long-form investigative documentary films and television projects, typically commissioned and licensed through public and specialty broadcasters. Its portfolio consists of three feature-length documentaries: 'Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel' (2007), which follows a five-year struggle of residents of a flophouse hotel against gentrification; 'The Lost Highway' (2014), which examines economic decline along a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway between Toronto and Ottawa; and 'Come Clean' (2022), which embeds with addicts in a treatment facility and follows them for 18 months post-release.

The studio's core production methodology is multi-year, immersive access-based filmmaking — crews have embedded round-the-clock inside a rehabilitation facility for nearly a month followed by an additional year of filming, and other projects have spanned multi-year shooting schedules. This approach has produced award-recognized work, including a Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Documentary Series and a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Documentary Program. Distribution occurs through broadcast licensing (TVO, Bravo! Canada, CBC Documentary Channel, YES Israel), film festival premieres (notably Hot Docs), and consumer digital platforms (Vimeo on Demand and YouTube).

The revenue model rests primarily on documentary production commissions from Canadian public broadcasters — TVO is the principal commissioning party — supplemented by licensing fees for broadcast distribution and minor transactional revenue from Vimeo on Demand and YouTube. The company is privately held and entirely founder-owned, with no evidence of external institutional or private-equity investment, no disclosed headcount beyond the two co-founders, and no disclosed revenue figures. Marketing is driven almost entirely by earned media coverage in major Canadian outlets and festival-circuit exposure rather than paid acquisition.

Name

Insurgent Projects Inc.

Legal name

Insurgent Projects

Website

https://insurgentprojects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Insurgent Projects Inc. is a Toronto-based independent studio producing long-form investigative documentaries. It serves Canadian public broadcasters—principally TVO—through commissioned feature films exploring social issues such as gentrification, economic decline, and addiction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Feature-Length Documentaries (MPADADAA)

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Long-form documentaries
• Investigative filmmaking
• Broadcast content licensing
• Social issue documentaries

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

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 & Licensing: The company produces documentary films and licenses broadcast rights to television networks (TVO, Bravo! Canada, YES Israel, CBC Documentary Channel). Revenue is generated through production commissions from broadcasters and licensing fees for broadcast distribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Insurgent Projects is an independent documentary film studio that produces long-form investigative documentaries on social issues including gentrification, economic decline, and addiction treatment. The company embeds with subjects for extended periods and licenses completed films to television broadcasters such as TVO, Bravo! Canada, CBC Documentary Channel, and YES Israel, with additional distribution on Vimeo on Demand and YouTube.

Product overview

Insurgent Projects is a Toronto-based documentary filmmaking duo that creates feature-length documentaries. Their portfolio consists of three distinct documentary productions: Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel (2007), a documentary about urban renewal and gentrification at a historic hotel; The Lost Highway (2014), exploring economic decline along the Trans-Canada Highway; and Come Clean (2022), following addicts through treatment and recovery. The company is known for long-term documentary projects that involve extended filming periods and in-depth storytelling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel A feature-length documentary following the five-year struggle of long-time staff and residents of a flophouse hotel as they fight to survive against aggressive developers and urban renewal, exploring the unintentional roles people play in gentrification. Aired on TVO. 58/65 minutes. Gemini Award winner for Best Direction in a Documentary Series.
• The Lost Highway A documentary exploring the decline of a desolate stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway between Toronto and Ottawa, examining failed businesses, derelict properties, and the stories of those who remain despite the hardship. Aired on TVO and CBC Documentary Channel. 58/74 minutes. Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Documentary Program.
• Come Clean A documentary following addicts through 19-days of in-treatment and for 18 months following release as they attempt to break the habits that have delivered them to the brink of ruin. Commissioned by TVO; available on YouTube. 89 minutes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gemini Award winner for Best Direction in a Documentary Series
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Breakthrough Entertainment: Toronto-based independent production company with documentary, factual, and scripted output distributed across Canadian broadcasters. Comparable in business model and Canadian public broadcaster relationships, though broader in genre scope than Insurgent Projects.
• First Generation Films: Canadian independent documentary production company producing feature-length social-issue documentaries. Comparable to Insurgent Projects in its focus on Canadian subject matter and long-form investigative non-fiction for public broadcasters.
• Mongrel Media: Canadian independent film distribution and production company handling theatrical, broadcast, and digital distribution of independent Canadian and international titles. Comparable as a Canadian indie distribution counterpart for documentaries like those produced by Insurgent Projects.
• Catbird Productions: Canadian independent documentary production company with a track record of broadcast and festival distribution. Closely comparable to Insurgent Projects in subject matter, output cadence, and reliance on Canadian broadcaster commissions.
• Rhombus Media: Toronto-based independent production company producing documentary, drama, and performing arts content for Canadian and international broadcasters. Comparable in business model, scale, and Canadian public broadcaster distribution strategy.
• White Pine Pictures: Toronto-based independent documentary and feature film production company producing award-winning long-form Canadian content. Closely comparable to Insurgent Projects in scale, mission, and reliance on Canadian public broadcasters for distribution.
• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based independent documentary studio producing issue-driven, long-form non-fiction for over 50 years. Comparable to Insurgent in its commitment to socially engaged, immersive long-form documentary work and public broadcaster relationships.

Broad incumbents

• National Film Board of Canada: Canada's public documentary producer and distributor, vastly larger in scale and public funding. Comparable in subject matter (social-issue Canadian documentaries) and broadcaster distribution but operates as the dominant incumbent in Canadian non-fiction production.
• Participant Media: Larger US-based media company producing socially impactful documentary and narrative content for global streaming and theatrical distribution. Comparable thematic focus on social-issue documentary, but at significantly greater scale and capital intensity.
• BBC Studios Documentary Unit: BBC's in-house documentary production arm producing long-form investigative and social-issue documentaries for international broadcast. Comparable in subject matter and long-form approach, but operates as a global incumbent rather than independent producer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insurgent-projects-inc.

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 Insurgent Projects Inc.