The Tech Filmmaking Scene (May 2026)
A directory of every filmmaker in the technology industry.
tl;dr: There are <30 active filmmakers creating inside the technology industry right now. Versus 200,000+ software engineers in the Bay Area. There is only 1 feature film in development from the culture’s interior. Tech, one of the most consequential and complex cultural forces in the world, has almost no narrative storytelling capability in film. I map the first steps to solve this problem.
A filmmaking scene is emerging inside the technology industry. It’s still small and fragile, but there’s a group of serious people who want to make a career at the intersection of tech and film. This couldn’t have happened pre-2023, but the cultural room now exists for it.
The following is a list of studios, media operators, writers, directors, producers, & creatives who are creating at this intersection. I’ve gathered it over 3 years of doomscrolling X and texting myself any time I see a film set or film-adjacent person (and also from running a film club in San Francisco).
The directory is organized into 3 sections: studios (named entities), individuals, and infrastructure. The goal is to provide clarity on basically everything going on. When you can see the edges of something, then it can grow.
Studios
Narrative Lean
Building towards making fiction films.
Story Company website @storyandscience instagram
by: Jason Carman (100+docs w/ S³, 2 feature-length docs, feature-length trilogy + book adaption in-development) (@jasonjoyride)
north star: creating feature-length science fiction films
commercial work: cinematic + docu-style spots for deeptech companies
clients: deeptech companies and institutions
RAINBOW PARC* website @rainbowparc instagram
by: Nikhil Ganesh, Krish Mysoor, Neil Thekdi (@nikhilganesh001, @krishmysoor, @producer_neil)
north star: fiction films based in the technology industry. “Again, Tomorrow” filming 2026.
commercial work: cinematic spots for early-stage startups
notes: one of the only studios I’m aware of creating fiction from the industry’s interior (via the team’s South Bay background). Nikhil Ganesh is a director to watch.
Commercial Lean
Building towards strong commercial execution.
Offscript website @wentoffscript instagram
by: Juliana Glodek, Alli Gooch, Cameron Dennis (@juliazniv, @alli_gooch, @docdropout)
commercial work: cinematic storytelling for startups/tech ++ original series, shows
clients: early-stage startups & media operators
Osmo website @osmo_studio instagram
by: Will Hoppin, Basil Alfaro (@willyhopps, @basilvalfaro)
commercial work: cinematic storytelling for startups
clients: early-stage startups
Hard Launch website @hardlaunching
by: Jacky Huang, Rylee Stanton, Lucas Quan (@Jackyhuang, @rylinaz, @lucasquan)
commercial work: launches for startups (have worked w/ Eigen, Flora, Listen Labs)
clients: early-stage startups
Afterimage (nyc) website @afterimage
by: Josh Lee, Cyrus Duff (@lee94josh, @cyrusduff_)
commercial work: creative + film for startups
clients: early-stage startups
Really Good Videos website @reallygoodvids
by: Ben Aguilera (based in spain) (@ben_aguilera)
commercial work: feature + product launches (have made banger work for raindrop and others)
clients: startups
Skale website @SkaleSolutions
by: Mark Vassilevskiy (@MarkKnd)
commercial work: feature + product launches (some film pieces, usually motion spots)
clients: startups
The Launch Video Company website @subahwadhwani
by: Subah Wadhwani (@subahwadhwani), runs Atomik for podcasting
commercial work: launches + podcasts (Atomik)
clients: startups + venture
Alto Visuals (la/nyc) website @altovisuals instagram
by: Loucas Tsilas (nyc), Andres O’Beirne (nyc) (@LoucasTsilas, @andresobeirne)
commercial work: launch videos (did launch for Cluely, Poke)
clients: early-stage startups
Camp Studios (Creator Camp) website instagram @creatorcamp_
by: Max Reisinger, Simon Kim, Chris Duncan (@Maxbrsee, @thesimonkim, insta:@chris_dunc)
commercial work: full-stack creative
clients: startups, global brands
Native Four (la) website instagram
by: Dilan Mistry (insta:@dilanmistry)
commercial work: commercial + branded
clients: global brands (outside of tech), EP w/ Offscript
Individuals
This section will be organized into 11 groups: directors, writers, producers, creative directors, in-house, independents, head of media @ company, X “influencers”, operators, venture capital, and those close/adjacent. Within categories, names will be organized alphabetically.
CD = creative director
* = repeating from studio section
Directors
Arvin Farsyad (toronto) website @arvinfarsyad instagram (w/ Simply Living Studios)
Donald Jewkes website @donaldjewkes instagram
*Jason Carman (tech × film origin point, ’23) website @jasonjoyride instagram
Joel Yoon website @joelyoon_ instagram (operating under dogeared)
Joshua Bonzo (nyc, creator, director) website @wordisbonz instagram (operating under The Editor Company)
*Nikhil Ganesh website @nikhilganesh001 instagram
Souvid Datta (london, some work w/ @fiftyyears) website @souvid instagram
Steven Xiao website @stevenxiao_ instagram (operating under Montlake Studios)
Writers
Austin Peirson (writer, editor) website @AustinPeirson (Austin has the early intangibles of a strong writer and strong editing skills, potentially moving to LA soon)
Shani Zhang (artist) website @sha_zng instagram (vivid cinematic sense, example, think she’d be a great screenwriter, currently draws part-time)
Producers
Adam Miller (Sachin & Adam) @_AdamMiller_
Adil Mania (Silicon Mania) website @adilmania instagram (one of the first to take X-first shows and formats seriously, very show-oriented rather than cinema)
Arielle Swedback (nyc — Substack) @aswedback
Ben Slevin (A16Z) website @bnslevin instagram
Benyam Ephrem (writer, director, producer) website @bephrem instagram
Courtney Bankhead (Cheeky Pint @ Stripe) website
Ebaad Rehman website @0xEbaad (started capi, now side questing — I believe it petered out, the premise was great, just lost momentum, imo should still exist, maybe not the podcast form factor but something more dynamic like docs)
Eliott Mogenet (Expresso Studio) @eliott__mogenet
Gabriel Ramans (Silicon Mania) @gabrielramans
Hunter Weiss @Hunter_Weiss instagram (WE!SS studios, serving global brands + startups)
James Lin website @jlinbio (research/deeptech lean)
*Juliana Glodek (head of studio) @juliazniv instagram
Kenny Tjay website @kennytjay instagram (video and podcast producer)
Randa Sakallah (Substack) website @mostlyvibing (has really good story sense)
Rob Giani website @robcgiani instagram (cinematic deeptech lean)
Sachin Shah (Sachin & Adam) @Sachin_Shah_
Tamara Winter (Stripe) @tamarawinter (2 episodes of “Tacit,” they did well, then series disappeared. maybe budget / ROI issues, fate of most good productions in tech when twitter fervor dies down)
Creative Directors
Alec Bahta (nyc, Whop) @quietluke instagram
*Alli Gooch (la) website @alli_gooch instagram
Jeremiah Warren (la) website @jeremiahjw (looking for role as CD in tech, based in LA)
Nefise Akcakir website @nef_isa instagram (visiting sf, working on move from canada, either director or CD)
Reggie James (General Catalyst) @HipCityReg instagram (new at GC)
Richard Zheng (A16Z) website @richardzphotoz instagram
Yacouba Gnacko (Alif) @YGnacko instagram
In-House
Aaron Bisla (Dedalus) website @44ron44 instagram
Aiden Blumenstein (Founders Inc) website @super8n (strong cinematic sense)
Arman Ajoomal (Core Memory) website @armaanajoomal instagram
Sunday Ajak (The Residency) @sundayajak instagram (head of marketing)
Independents
Abhz (australia) @Aabbhhz
Alex DeNuzzo @xdenuzzo
Brandon Lu (nyc, creative producer) website @brandonjlu instagram
Chloe LeValley website @ChloeLevalley
Daniel Kwon (nyc, prev. Wabi) @dantioxidants instagram (consulting now)
Edmund Tian @edmundtian instagram (AI filmmaking)
Eliott Mogenet (writer, director) @mogenetEth instagram (I saw a production a while back but now I think running a startup)
Ivan @leomeethewoo (operating under Intently, fintech launches)
Jaden Kwan @findingjaden instagram (operating under Tastefully)
Jordan Mitchell @byjmitch (operating under New Renaissance)
Nick Gerwitz (cinematographer, editor, producer) @nicholasgerwitz instagram
Shubham Tuteja (delhi, CD) @ShubhamTotu instagram
“Side Quest Ryan” @sidequestryan instagram
Thomas Burton website @tomredhairmedia (operating under Red Hair Media)
Vikrant Patankar website @vikpat instagram
Will Phillips website @willsclips_ instagram yt (moving stories to the “outside world,” very consistent at cinematic quality, essential work so this moment is not lost to time, analogous to Jason Carman’s work on S³ except software-focused vs deeptech)
Head of Media/Product/Comms/Growth/Strategy/Brand/DevX @ Company
Adel Wu (Reducto, HoG) website @adelwu_ instagram (animation, illustration)
Brian Kinnes (Whop, HoM) website @briankinnes instagram
Dar Sleeper (1X, HoP) website @radbackwards (first brand to consistently produce serious film work in tech)
Denton Baird (Zipline, Head of Comms) website @DentonBaird (zipline is doing very solid work on comms)
Fynn Comerford (Until Labs, Head of Strategy) website @FynnComerford instagram
Hannah Ahn (Superpower, HoM — OG startup branding person ’23/’24) @hannah_ahn instagram
James Reina (New Media @ A16Z, Growth, nyc) @thejamesreina (prev. Mr Beast)
Julia Fedorin (Composio, HoM) @juliafedorin instagram (very content forward)
Liam Hinzman (Exa, HoP) website @LiamHz instagram (illustration, 3D)
Louie O’Connor (Ethereum) @lou3ee instagram
Manveer (Prime Intellect, HoP) website @manveerxyz (PI one of the few companies doing brand well, distinct & immediately recognizable identity)
Sarah Chieng (Cerebras, DevX) @MilksandMatcha (Big Chip Club, has done a film screening or two)
Steven Pham (Y Combinator, HoM) @svkpham
Tiago Sada (Tools for Humanity//World, HoP) website @tiagosada instagram
TJ Krusinski (Content @ Chroma) website @tjkrusinski
X-fluencers
Anu Atluru website @anuatluru instagram (cultural commentator/critic)
Cole Lee (“covacut,” creator) website @covacut instagram (dropping new tech × art intellectual frameworks regularly)
Jayden Clark (MOTS pod) @creatine_cycle instagram (longform pods documenting sf underground, very good at the saxophone)
Jenny Gao (“50,000 Art Hoes”, australia) @taotechic instagram (very perceptive, writes screenplays I think)
Maja Wilbrink (Narrative Strategist) website @majamediaco (extremely talented writer, extremely strong narrative & story sense, moving from australia to sf soon)
Paula Dozsa @paularambles (likes film)
Scott Belsky (partner @ A24) website @scottbelsky
Operators
Patrick McGuire (CEO @ Soon) @patrickmcguire
Eoghan McCabe (Intercom, Chairman @ Soon) @eoghan
Venture Capital
Brent Liang (New Media @ A16Z) @liangsays instagram
Brett Berson (FirstRound) @brettberson (film@nyu)
Claire Zau (Partner @ Lightspeed) @clairejyz instagram (explaining tech and vc moment by moment in plain language)
Drew Moxon (Head of Platform @ 50y) @moxon (prev. interactive media @ usc)
Erik Torenberg (New Media @ A16Z) @eriktorenberg
Josh Machiz (CMO @ Lightspeed) @Machiz instagram (thesis: venture should produce content & real film work, mindshare, etc etc — obvious, no one is doing it well)
Julian Weisser (ODF) @julianweisser (cinephile)
Lester Chen (sf/la) @Chen (very strong sense for story, commissioning work for speedrun)
Monica Lim @mon__lim (has done a film screening or two)
Shari Doherty (prev Lucasfilm ’97-’00) @sharidoherty
Adjacent
Chris Samra (Waterloo) website @crsamra
Elizabeth Qiu (University of Maryland) website @elizqiu instagram (moving to sf soon I think)
Karina Bao (photo/film) @repkarinabao (has taken still photos for SF Alexandria, @aadilpickle blog)
Max Prokopp (prev. producer) @maxprokopp instagram (in south bay // doing research I think)
Notes (Studios + Individuals)
I never really saw the full picture until sitting down to write this list. Looking on it now I see:
0 professional writers: Almost no screenwriters from inside the culture. Austin is working on moving from Canada to SF, and Shani works in art (might begin writing). But no one is formally trained. Without writers, stories can’t get made.
2 professional (culture-interior) narrative directors: Nikhil Ganesh + Jason Carman. Donald Jewkes has all the intangibles and the strongest interiority, but isn’t writing anything right now. Jason Carman is working on a trilogy, but won’t be addressing culture-interior sf tech stories.
1 culture-interior feature-film in production: RAINBOW PARC* is the only studio coming from inside Silicon Valley currently producing a film (“Again, Tomorrow”) on the tech industry’s interior life. To me, this should be 3 or 5 studios.
2-3 serious, career producers
5-6 creative directors
various independents doing independent things
various heads of media with sense
some X influencers, mostly commentary
1-2 serious venture firms
then others adjacent
Tech, one of the most consequential and complex cultural forces in the world right now, has almost 0 narrative storytelling capability. And has fragmented & weak labor depth in almost every creative category film requires. Almost all storytelling activity is commercial-aligned vs. culture-aligned.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is everything surrounding individuals to allow them to be productive. This includes access to 5 things: capital, community, studio space, festivals (to showcase work), and distribution (publications, critique).
* = things I have started
Capital
*The Silicon Valley Film Fund (svfilm.fund): A $15,000 grant for narrative filmmakers creating stories on San Francisco tech’s cultural interior.
OSV Fellowship (website): A one-year program for researchers, builders, and creatives advancing civilization. Grants up to $100,000 (Jason Carman awarded in ’24).
Notes: The main bottlenecks right now are clarity on what stories should exist and supply of those stories (re: writers, directors), not capital.
This clarity and the cinematic training take years to acquire. It should just be tablestakes that those with a vision and clear plan should be given capital to remove that barrier (given the story shortage and capital surplus).
Community
Once talent is concentrated in a certain geography, there needs to be physical meeting points for people to convene, share ideas, and see that others are doing the same thing (otherwise people will get discouraged, leave, or quit).
Ideas need others to bounce off of and amplify. As a software engineer in SF this comes for free, everything is building, conversations about it are everywhere. If you open your X timeline, 90 out of 100 posts will be about investing, mental models, or fundraising/user milestones. For those creating stories, a new infrastructure has to be created.
*SF Film Club (Luma): A small salon series for filmmakers creating at the intersection of tech & film. Cinephiles + full-time filmmakers.
Design Film Club: Monthly screenings crossing over w/ Design Eng Club. (a loose collective runs this, have seen @mathurahravi, @ftnabeelah, @tinathetechie, @floguo involved).
New Systems: By Vin Verma (@internetvin), a 3rd space in Toronto (83 Walnut Avenue) for technologists & artists w/ a mix of tech & media events. Also create films.
TIAT: By Ash Herr (@imempowa), creating a home for creative technologists. Gallery at 151 Powell St.
Localhost: By Kei Hayashi, Suhas Sumukh, & Hardeep Gambhir (@KechoHayashi, @suhasasumukh, @hardeep_gambhir). A startup accelerator + media effort w/ 4 hubs around the world (Bangalore, Tokyo, Paris, SF launching soon).
Machine Cinema: By Minh Do (@minhsmind), exploring AI filmmaking’s intersection with traditional cinematic storytelling. Meetings primarily in LA (Luma).
Nautilus: By Zelda Poem (@zeldapoem), pioneering the patronage model in ’24 for artists in SF in a 3-month accelerator format. Not film but adjacent.
Notes: SF Film Club is the only space in the city that working filmmakers in tech with serious cinematic ambition can convene. There is opportunity for a larger community center like TIAT (151 Powell St) to exist just for film, as a screening and meeting space (similar to what the Cinémathèque Française was during the French New Wave). I don’t think the community is large enough for that yet though.
Localhost is great, but it’s a hybrid accelerator + media space & globally distributed. The community space, should it exist, should be 100% dedicated to the creation of stories instead of product, and fully identified against the SF geography.
The best analog for what is needed is New Systems.
Studio Space
Film requires capturing people in physical space. So, a new wave of filmmakers will need a physical studio that they can film subjects in.
There aren’t many filming spaces in San Francisco that look great. And of those that do exist, they aren’t catered directly to founders or venture capitalists.
In the absence of spaces that look good to film in, you get companies designing their own spaces, which leads to a reversion to the current aesthetic default:
Although many startups will prefer filming in their offices (due to time constraints), there still exists an opportunity to build a space that caters to both commercial demand and a community of filmmakers. With an actual production designer.
This would serve as a home for filmmakers to bring their own clients and film personal projects that serve the culture.
Festivals & Distribution
A bit ahead of the curve (since work has to exist first), but there will eventually need to be a specialized festival dedicated specifically to short, narrative, and experimental film projects on the tech industry.
In late ’25 there was enough density of work from the launch video craze that Playback (by Offscript) offered an outlet. This flow of capital and cultural interest has died down, and the cultural pressure has gone dormant (partly due to narrative momentum slowing, partly due to less interesting things getting launched since mid-’25). But it will build back up again as filmmakers begin to make more work.
This festival would run annually. For now, SF Film Club is a small outlet where filmmakers can screen work.
What’s Happening in 2026
So the things to pay the closest attention to this year:
RAINBOW PARC* is shooting their feature film “Again, Tomorrow” this year
Jason Carman is shooting an adaptation of the book “The Idea Factory” by Jon Gertner
SF Film Club is running monthly & SV Film Fund submissions close June 10th
Offscript is pushing the commercial register, with eyes on reshaping industry-wide narratives
I am currently writing a short film, shooting in 2026
The Reality
I see a tweet every few months of people expressing frustration around the lack of stories addressing tech honestly, I think about this post from @VirtualElena on tech’s thin film canon:
Or this one from Keller Cliffton:
…Hollywood writers don’t know what building in tech is like, and we have 0 professional writers here. And it will take 5+ years to train new writers, who wouldn’t have worked in tech in the first place…and if they were in tech and succeeding it would be so lucrative they wouldn’t leave…a big inescapable loop!
So, it’s important to realize that tech is structurally incapable of producing stories on film, and I hope this list makes that clear. We can’t rely on Hollywood to understand a culture that is so different from a completely different geography. We have to build the storytelling capacity here.
So before firing off a tweet about SF or tech not producing stories, or Hollywood misrepresenting tech (tweets are fine…but), we have to look at the reality. The reality is above. To change reality, you have to move time and money towards talent and a vision.
You either build this capacity, or the stories do not get made.
If you’re missing from this list or any information is incorrect, please dm @bephrem on X, and I’ll add or correct.
Super insightful breakdown, thank you for collecting all this and sharing it!