The Distillery Film Company

What The Distillery Film Company does

The Distillery Film Company is an independent film and video production company founded in 2017 by Gordie Haakstad and Chris Beauchamp, headquartered in Edmonton with a secondary office in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The firm produces commercial, branded, documentary, narrative, music video, and immersive VR content for a client base that spans enterprise (Nutrien, Foster's Seed & Feed, AAA Safety, Paragon Oilfield, Tara Energy Services), educational institutions (Northwestern Polytechnic, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), government (City and County of Grande Prairie), nonprofits (Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, Breakfast Club of Canada, Alberta Emerald Foundation, Regional EMS Foundation), and music acts (Arrival of Autumn for Nuclear Blast Entertainment). Its work has been distributed via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals, and earned AMPIA Rosie Awards, Attic Film Festival, and Reel Shorts wins.

The company's core offering is full-service in-house production, covering development, pre-production, production, and post-production with capabilities that include directing, cinematography, editing, sound design, original music composition, color grading, motion graphics, visual effects, and aerial drone cinematography. Differentiated offerings include a VR/immersive experience for Meta Quest 2 (Immersive Honey Making Experience) and original narrative IP such as the short film 'In Passing' (2026). The technology stack is fundamentally a creative-services pipeline rather than a software platform; there is no API, SDK, or app product line, no patents, and no disclosed AI/ML components.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees from individual client contracts, with no public pricing or subscription/recurring-revenue mechanics disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct client engagement across Alberta and Western Canada, supported by a portfolio-driven website, Vimeo and YouTube showreels, organic social (Facebook, X), and film-festival participation. The firm is founder-owned with no recorded external funding rounds, no parent company, and headcount of 1–10 employees.

Name

The Distillery Film Company

Legal name

The Distillery Film Company, Ltd.

Website

https://thedistillery.film

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Distillery Film Company is an independent Alberta-based production studio founded in 2017 by Gordie Haakstad and Chris Beauchamp, offering full-service commercial, branded, documentary, music video, and immersive VR content for enterprise, government, education, and nonprofit clients across Western Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Video Production Services: Project-based professional video production services including branded content, commercials, documentaries, music videos, and short films for corporate, nonprofit, and government clients. Revenue generated through client contracts for video production projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Distillery Film Company is a full-service, independent film and video production company producing commercials, branded content, documentaries, short films, feature films, music videos, and immersive VR experiences for corporate, government, nonprofit, and education clients. The company handles every production stage in-house from script development through post-production, with capabilities spanning directing, cinematography, editing, sound design, music composition, color grading, motion graphics, visual effects, and aerial drone cinematography.

Product overview

The Distillery Film Company is an independent film and video production company offering comprehensive production services from concept to completion. The core offerings include Branded Content Production, Commercial Video Production, Documentary Production, Original Narratives (short films, episodic, feature films), and Music Video Production. Their specialized capabilities include VR/Immersive experiences such as the Immersive Honey Making Experience for Paradis Valley Honey. The company also maintains portfolio showcases including Creative Reel and Commercial Reel. Services span the full production pipeline including development, pre-production, production (cinematography, directing, sound recording), and post-production (editing, sound design, color grading, motion graphics). Notable projects have been distributed through Sony Pictures, TELUS Optik TV, and screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branded Content Production Professional branded content creation for commercial purposes, designed to tell client stories and connect with audiences through emotional engagement. Aimed at corporate, nonprofit, and government clients.
• Commercial Video Production Production of commercial video campaigns and advertisements for various platforms including cinema pre-roll, online, and direct distribution channels.
• Documentary Production Documentary filmmaking built on research, authenticity, and storytelling for organizations of all sizes, including documentary series for foundations and government clients.
• Original Narratives and Short Film Production Development and production of original narrative projects including short films that have screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals and won industry awards including AMPIA Rosie Awards.
• Feature Film Production Feature-length film production with prior distribution through major studios such as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
• Music Video Production Music video production for artists including collaborations with major label acts such as Nuclear Blast Entertainment.
• Immersive Honey Making Experience A choose-your-own-adventure style interactive VR experience exploring the honey-making process through beekeeping seasons. Designed for Meta VR headsets with multilingual support and spatial audio. Custom app with interactive menus and multilingual dialogue tracks.

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• nine10 Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrande Prairie marketing agency that collaborated with Distillery founders on the 'Arnie the Viking' multi-video campaign project for Hansen Ford Lincoln before the company was formally founded.
• National Screen InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with National Screen Institute for 'A Typical Heart' documentary project, with Connie Edwards serving as mentor.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bell Media Studios: Production arm of Bell Media, one of Canada's largest media conglomerates. Comparable as a Canadian video production entity though operates at significantly larger scale with broadcast network integration and broader commercial capabilities.
• Sphere Media: Montreal-based independent media production and distribution company producing documentary, scripted, and lifestyle content. Comparable overlap in documentary and commercial production though Sphere is significantly larger and also handles distribution rights.

Direct peers

• Secret Location: Toronto-based immersive and VR content studio producing interactive experiences for brands and entertainment. Directly comparable to The Distillery's VR/immersive work (Immersive Honey Making Experience for Meta Quest) as both companies develop interactive VR experiences for commercial clients.
• Highwire Films: Vancouver-based independent video production company producing commercial, branded, and documentary content for Western Canadian clients. Comparable project-based commercial production model serving similar enterprise and nonprofit clients in the Western Canadian market.
• Vérité Films: Independent Canadian production company producing documentary and scripted content. Comparable as a Canadian independent filmmaker-led production studio with a similar mix of documentary, narrative, and commercial work and a comparable team size.
• Little Engine Moving Pictures: Toronto-based independent film and television production company producing scripted drama, feature films, and series. Comparable to The Distillery Film Company as a Canadian independent production house operating project-based from concept to delivery, though anchored in Ontario and more focused on scripted long-form content.
• Head Gear Films: Canadian independent film production company producing feature films and scripted content. Comparable as an independent Canadian production company though its focus is more heavily skewed toward feature-length scripted content for distribution.

Regional players

• Pigeon Row: Calgary-based video production company serving Western Canadian enterprise clients. Comparable because it operates in the same Alberta/Western Canadian regional market with similar commercial video, branded content, and production services for corporate and nonprofit clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/distillery_film
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC06dQcqpE2ZLT7EUUV32auA
• Facebookfacebook.com/distilleryfilmco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/distilleryfilmco

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 The Distillery Film Company