Architecture and Design Film Festival

What Architecture and Design Film Festival does

The Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) is a privately held, founder-operated film festival organization established in 2008 by architect Kyle Bergman. It runs city-specific festival editions dedicated exclusively to documentary and feature films about architecture and design, currently spanning seven physical markets — New York (flagship), Toronto, Vancouver, Mumbai, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles — plus a Special Screenings series in New York. The organization serves creative design professionals (architects, designers), design-conscious consumers, and filmmakers seeking exhibition venues for architecture and design content, with programming that includes film screenings, filmmaker talks, and festival lounges.

ADFF's product is event programming rather than software. Its operations rely on third-party platforms: FilmFreeway for filmmaker submissions and Eventive for ticketing and scheduling in the New York edition. Programming is curated by a small core team of 14 named staff members based in New York, supplemented by city-specific co-producers and partners. Each city edition is anchored by a local venue partner — Chicago Architecture Center for ADFF:Chicago, National Centre for Performing Arts for ADFF:Mumbai, Culver Theater for ADFF:LA, and Toronto Society of Architects for ADFF:Toronto — and by co-producers with domain credibility (Amit Gupta/STIR for Mumbai, Anne Pearson/Vancouver Special and Leah Mallen/All in Pictures for Vancouver). No proprietary technology, mobile application, or platform is disclosed; the organization's intellectual property is essentially its curated programming, brand, and sponsor relationships.

Revenue derives from three streams: ticket sales (transaction fees on individual city events), corporate sponsorship (recurring relationships with design-industry brands such as Rockwell Group, Eventscape, Grohe, Lutron, Mohawk, and Toronto Society of Architects), and film submission fees processed via FilmFreeway. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website; tickets are sold pay-as-you-go per event. The organization is bootstrapped and founder-owned — no funding rounds, acquisitions, or institutional investors are disclosed — and operates with a lean team of 11–50 people.

Name

Architecture and Design Film Festival

Legal name

Architecture & Design Film Festival

Website

https://adfilmfest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) is a founder-operated film festival organization curating documentary and feature films about architecture and design across seven city editions in North America and Mumbai. It serves architects, design professionals, design-conscious consumers, and filmmakers through ticketed events, sponsorships, and film submissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)

Keywords

• Architecture film festival
• Design documentary screenings
• Multi-city film festival
• Film festival ticketing
• Cultural event programming

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated through ticket sales for festival events across multiple cities including NY, Toronto, Vancouver, Mumbai, Chicago, Detroit, and LA.
2. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors support the festival with commitment to ADFF's belief that good design helps make the world a better place. Sponsors connect with ADFF audiences of creative design professionals and design-conscious consumers. Sponsors can support one specific ADFF event or the entire season.
3. Film Submissions: Filmmakers submit films through FilmFreeway platform for consideration in the festival program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) operates a multi-city film festival dedicated to showcasing documentary and feature films about architecture and design. Each city edition (NY, Toronto, Vancouver, Mumbai, Chicago, Detroit, LA) screens curated films, hosts filmmaker talks, and runs festival lounges for creative professionals. Revenue is generated through ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and paid film submissions via FilmFreeway.

Product overview

The Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) operates as a multi-city film festival organization with city-specific editions spanning North America (New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Detroit) and internationally (Mumbai). The festival is a unified platform showcasing documentary and feature films focused on architecture and design, with each city edition (ADFF:NY, ADFF:LA, ADFF:Toronto, ADFF:Vancouver, ADFF:Mumbai, ADFF:Chicago, ADFF:Detroit) operating as a regional hub with local venues, sponsors, and programming teams. Additionally, the organization runs Special Screenings as standalone events and accepts film submissions through FilmFreeway for each seasonal cycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ADFF:NY (New York)
• ADFF:LA (Los Angeles)
• ADFF:Toronto
• ADFF:Vancouver
• ADFF:Mumbai
• ADFF:Chicago
• ADFF:Detroit
• ADFF:Special Screenings
• Film Submissions

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EventscapecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEventscape is a sponsor of ADFF:NY. They provide support for the New York festival edition, connecting with creative design professionals and design-conscious consumers at the event.
• GrohecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGrohe is a sponsor of ADFF:NY, providing support for the New York festival. Grohe is a global brand for kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
• Rockwell GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRockwell Group is a sponsor of ADFF:NY, supporting the festival as a prominent architecture and design firm.
• Vancouver SpecialcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVancouver Special is a sponsor of ADFF:Vancouver. Owner Anne Pearson also serves as ADFF:Vancouver Co-Producer.
• All In PicturescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAll In Pictures is a sponsor of ADFF:Vancouver. Vancouver-based production company headed by Leah Mallen, ADFF:Vancouver Producer.
• A N D (Architecture N Design)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerA N D is a sponsor of ADFF:Vancouver, supporting the festival as a design-focused organization.
• LutroncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLutron is a sponsor of ADFF:Toronto, providing support for the Toronto festival edition.
• MohawkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMohawk is a sponsor of ADFF:Toronto, supporting the festival as a flooring manufacturer.
• Toronto Society of ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTSA is a sponsor and partner of ADFF:Toronto, providing organizational support and audience connection within the Toronto architecture community.
• STIRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTIR is a sponsor and co-producer of ADFF:Mumbai. Founder Amit Gupta serves as ADFF:Mumbai Co-Festival Director. STIR is a media house and curatorial agency in architecture, design and art.
• Chicago Architecture CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAC is a sponsor of ADFF:Chicago and hosts the festival at their venue, providing the location for the Chicago festival edition.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DOC NYC: DOC NYC is America's largest documentary film festival, run annually in New York. ADFF's senior programmer also programs DOC NYC, making it a directly comparable peer in curated documentary festival operations, audience acquisition, and ticketing model.
• SFFILM (San Francisco Film Festival): SFFILM runs a major annual film festival plus year-round programming in a major US city, mirroring ADFF's hub-and-spoke model with multi-city editions and curated film programming. ADFF's box office manager also previously worked at SFFILM.
• Open House Worldwide: Open House organizes city-wide architecture and design open-weekend events globally (London, New York, etc.). It targets the same design-curious audience as ADFF and operates a similar city-edition hub model, making it the closest direct comparator on the architecture/design vertical.
• WantedDesign: WantedDesign is an NYC-based design event platform that runs exhibitions and talks during NYCxDesign, targeting the same design-professional and design-conscious consumer audience as ADFF, with overlapping sponsors (e.g., design brands) and venue partners.

Broad incumbents

• SXSW Film & TV: SXSW is a large multi-track festival (film, music, interactive) that runs in Austin and overlaps with ADFF's event-driven model and ticketing operations. ADFF staff have prior SXSW experience, positioning SXSW as a much larger but adjacent comparable.
• Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): TIFF is a major annual film festival that shares Toronto as a market with ADFF:Toronto and operates the same ticketing, sponsorship, and curated-programming model, but at vastly greater scale and broader film category focus.
• AIA Conference on Architecture: The AIA Conference is the largest annual gathering of US architecture professionals, with comparable professional audience (architects), sponsor profile (design-product manufacturers), and educational programming. ADFF competes for the same professional attention and sponsor dollars, but on the cinema/film axis.
• Design Miami: Design Miami runs design fairs in Miami and Basel with overlapping architecture/design sponsors (e.g., Grohe, Mohawk, Lutron also participate in design fairs) and comparable design-enthusiast audience. It is a broader design collector market rather than film-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ADFilmFest
• Facebookfacebook.com/adfilmfest
• Instagraminstagram.com/adfilmfest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Architecture and Design Film Festival