Actual Films

We create, develop and produce critically acclaimed, award-winning documentaries for the widest possible international release.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/actualfilmsdocs

11/21/2025

✨ We’re honored to share that two Actual Films projects have been nominated for the 2026 Cinema Eye Honors!

IN WAVES AND WAR
Best Visual Design

MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE
Audience Choice Prize
Best Debut Feature
Best Sound Design

Huge congratulations to our incredible filmmaking teams, collaborators, and partners who brought these powerful stories to life. And thank you to .eye.honors for recognizing the craft, care, and creativity behind both films.

10/23/2025

🎉Exciting news! Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore is on the .eye.honors Audience Choice longlist — one of just 16 films recognized this year! Thank you to the audiences who’ve connected with this story and to everyone who helped bring it to life.

To win the award, we’re asking for your help. Each year, documentary fans have the opportunity to select 10 nominees and the ultimate winner of the prize. First round voting for Audience Choice will open on Tuesday October 28th and will close on Monday November 3rd at 5pm PT. We’ll share more information on how to vote soon - stay tuned!

10/18/2025

In late 2024/early 2025, ’s brought together cultural and scientific institutions from around SoCal to explore the intersection of Art and Science. And TONIGHT, following a packed screening in LA, stations around the country will introduce you to the people collaborating to reimage our world. Congratulations to everyone involved!

If you’re in the LA area, watch “Art & Science Collide” at 8pm on PBS SocCal. Outside of LA, check your local listings, or watch it on the PBS app!

📺: https://pbs.org/show/art-science-collide (https://pbs.org/show/art-science-collide?source=social)

10/14/2025

Two Actual Films broadcast premieres. One incredible week on PBS.

MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE
Learn about Marlee Matlin, Oscar-winning actress and champion of the Deaf community.

📅 Tues., Oct. 14 at 6pm PT on

ART & SCIENCE COLLIDE:
Explore the often-overlooked connections between art and science, and meet the people collaborating to reimagine our world.

📅 Fri., Oct. 17 at 10pm PT on

09/20/2025

Two Actual Films projects will be playing in Milwaukee THIS WEEKEND as part of the 2025 Dialogues Documentary Film Festival! Don’t miss your chance to see them on the big screen.

MERCEDES
Saturday, September 20th at 3pm

ANY PROBLEM IS NO PROBLEM
Sunday, September 21st at 5pm

Tickets: https://mkefilm.org/dialogues-documentary-fest

08/22/2025

✨ MERCEDES has been named an Honorable Mention for the Spirit of Bernal Award! Congratulations to director .nagan and the whole team behind the film ✨

If you’re in San Francisco, don’t miss a special outdoor screening of the film under the stars at the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema:

📍 Precita Park (Precita Ave & Folsom St)
📅 Saturday, September 6
⏰ 7:00 PM
🎟 Tickets & info: bhoutdoorcine.org

08/20/2025

We’re honored to be featured in Vanity Fair today, celebrating Shoshannah Stern’s visionary leap from actor to director in Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. As the documentary unfolds, we see a groundbreaking story told in American Sign Language — a radiant blend of intimacy, activism, and cinematic innovation.

As Jon Shenk, Oscar‑nominated filmmaker, cinematographer on the film, and co-founder of Actual Films reflects: “We were going to have to develop a way of shooting that was certainly new to us, and may now make a contribution to how films about people who sign instead of speak English are made.”

Directed by Stern, the film redefines storytelling by stripping away conventions and centering deaf culture through authenticity, while offering “a nuanced portrait of a Hollywood icon through Stern’s bold use of craft and narrative.”

See why this isn’t just a documentary; it’s a new language of representation. Now playing in select theaters, and available for digital rental or purchase!

05/30/2025

Don’t miss MERCEDES, directed by our very own .nagan, playing THIS Saturday, May 31st at 2:30pm at as part of !

Spend a day in pre-pandemic San Francisco with Mercedes Weatherford, a quirky woman in her 70’s who still works full-time. Over the course of her workday, she reflects on her career and life journey. During this 12 minute portrait, the documentary asks what is the value of work?

🎟️Tickets Here: https://sfdocfest2025.eventive.org/

05/07/2025

Exciting news! Mercedes is an official selection of the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival!

Join us for the hometown premiere of our short documentary film following Mercedes Weatherford, a quirky woman in her 70’s who still works full-time. Over the course of her workday, she reflects on her career and life journey. During this 12 minute portrait, the documentary asks what is the value of work? Directed by .nagan and produced by .studios and

📍 Roxie Theater (House 2)
📅 Saturday, May 31st at 2:30pm
🎟️ Tickets available now at https://sfdocfest2025.eventive.org/

We’re honored to be part of a lineup that celebrates bold, real stories. See you at the fest! 💥🎬

04/17/2025

Actual Films is proud to present TWO documentaries at this year’s : Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore and In Waves and War!

🎬Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
📅 Fri, April 25 at 6:00pm
📍 Premier Theater at One Letterman

🎬 In Waves and War
📅 Sun, April 27 at 12:30pm
📍 Marina Theater

💬 Both screenings will be followed by Q&As with the filmmakers and film participants.

🎟️ Grab your tickets at sffilm.org/2025-festival-program/ — don’t wait, they’re going fast!

04/02/2025

Marge Carl, one of the participants featured in MAKE A SPLASH, our ESPN short film following a senior women’s basketball team, screened the film at USD this week for college athletes! Marge is now 95 and going strong :)

See the film now, link in bio.

Directed by:
Produced by:
EP’s: & .nagan
Edited by:
Music by:
Post Production Supervisor:
Assistant Editor:
Production Coordinator:

Address

39 Mesa Street
San Francisco, CA
94129

Website

https://actualfilms.net/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Actual Films posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Actual Films:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company in San Francisco?