Pushing culture and the industry forward since 2004.
Participant is the leading global media company dedicated to stories that speak to the world’s most important issues. Watch our brand reel here.
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Participant is a pioneer of socially conscious storytelling.
Founded in 2004 by Chairman Jeff Skoll and under the leadership of CEO David Linde, Participant’s films have earned 86 Academy Award® nominations, including 2022’s historic triple nomination for FLEE, and 21 wins, including Best Picture for Green Book and Spotlight; Best Documentary Feature for American Factory, CITIZENFOUR, The Cove, and An Inconvenient Truth; and Best Foreign Language Film for A Fantastic Woman and Roma. Participant also has earned 62 Emmy® Award nominations and 18 wins, including two wins for the groundbreaking When They See Us.
Participant partners with key nonprofits and NGOs to drive real-world impact and awareness around today’s most vital issues on a global scale, and is the only major US entertainment company whose social and environmental impact has earned a B Corp Certification. Participant believes that diversity is a source of strength, that inclusion is essential to progress, and that equity is an imperative for impact.
Participant stands for commitment and passion for making the world a better place through experiences that fill people’s minds and hearts and motivates them to be that change.
It was important to me to not only reach the greatest number of people possible, but also that the social impact would last longer than the lifecycle of the film.
Participant was founded in 2004 by social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, with a commitment to creating content that stands at the intersection of art and activism.
Davis Guggenheim’s landmark documentary An Inconvenient Truth changed the way that people speak about an existential human crisis. The film is one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time.
Jeff Skoll gave a popular TED talk about the journey that led him to found Participant, and how movies can create real change.
The widely seen film had a substantial impact on behaviors and choices, and paved the way for a whole genre of food documentaries that came after.
Steven Soderbergh’s thriller predicts a global pandemic. As part of the “Control the Contagion” campaign in 2020, stars of the movie created PSAs providing information and encouraging COVID safety.
Visionary director Laura Poitras’ Oscar®-winning documentary is a real-life thriller about surveillance in the post-9/11 era, featuring one of the most famous whistleblowers of our time.
Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation was acquired by Netflix, becoming their first original film.
In 2017, Participant became the only major US entertainment company whose social and environmental impact has earned a B Corp Certification, and in 2022 joined the UN Global Compact.
Wonder garners over $300M in worldwide box office, becoming one of Participant’s highest-grossing films and helping to push the company to over $3B worldwide, pre-pandemic.
TheRoma campaign, with CACEH and the NDWA, supported legislation bolstering domestic workers’ rights. The U.N.’s Mexican Ambassador coined the term “Roma Effect” to describe the cultural change.
The company received 17 Academy Award® nominations for Roma (10), Green Book(5) and RBG (2), winning 3 for Roma and 3 for Green Book.
Participant expanded into series with Steve James’ America to Meand Ava DuVernay’s groundbreaking When They See Us, which was nominated for 16 Emmy® Awards and received 2.
FLEEreceived a historic triple nomination for Best Documentary, Best International and Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards®.
Participant founded the Impact Advisory Council, a coalition of leaders in the impact and entertainment space whose invaluable expertise informs their guidance on impact campaign strategy.
In Memoriam
Diane Weyermann was the Chief Content Officer at Participant and her work defined the company since it was founded in 2004.
