Velvet Film

Velvet Film is a film production company established in 1986 in Berlin, Germany, by Haitian filmmaker and political activist Raoul Peck. It was originally formed as Velvet Film GmbH and later developed an international base spanning France, Haiti and the United States. The company is associated principally with Peck's body of work, producing or co-producing his documentaries, feature films and television dramas across several decades. The company's early production history included Haitian Corner, released in 1987, followed by Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète, a documentary feature completed in 1990 and identified as the company's first feature production. The film's circulation across Europe and North America helped establish Velvet Film's international production relationships. Following that exposure, the company worked with partners including JBA Production in France, Arte in France and Germany, and HBO in the United States, among others. These collaborations connected Velvet Film to broadcasters, distributors and co-production networks in multiple territories. Velvet Film's catalogue reflects recurring interests in Haiti, African and Caribbean political history, colonialism, race, memory, social inequality and the relationship between personal experience and larger historical forces. Its productions have included documentaries such as Desounen: Dialogue with Death, Profit & Nothing But!, I Am Not Your Negro, Exterminate All the Brutes, Silver Dollar Road and Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, as well as narrative features and television projects including The Man by the Shore, Sometimes in April, Moloch Tropical, Murder in Pacot, Soley and The Young Karl Marx. The company has functioned primarily as a production and co-production vehicle rather than as a consumer-facing entertainment label with a broad commercial product range. Its work is distributed through partnerships with film producers, broadcasters, festival circuits and international rights holders. This structure has allowed Velvet Film to support projects made in different formats and locations while retaining a consistent association with Peck's socially engaged cinema. Velvet Film's significance lies in the international reach and political scope of its catalogue. Its productions have brought historical subjects and contemporary social issues to cinema, television and documentary audiences in Europe, North America and beyond. The company remains identified with auteur-led filmmaking and transnational co-production, with later listed projects including Ernest Cole: Lost and Found and Orwell: 2+2=5.

Velvet Film was created in Berlin in 1986 by Raoul Peck, a Haitian filmmaker and political activist. The company was established as Velvet Film GmbH and became the principal production organization associated with Peck's filmmaking. Its early work developed within a transnational context, linking Haitian subject matter and politically engaged cinema with European production structures. The company's early listed production was Haitian Corner, released in 1987. It was followed by Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète, a documentary feature concerning Patrice Lumumba and the historical memory surrounding the Congolese leader. The film is identified as Velvet Film's first feature production and was released in 1990, with some catalogue references giving 1991 as the relevant year. Its successful screening across Europe and North America helped the company build relationships for later productions. These included collaborations with JBA Production in France, Arte across France and Germany, HBO in the United States and other production or broadcasting partners. During the 1990s and 2000s, Velvet Film's catalogue expanded across documentary and narrative filmmaking. The Man by the Shore and Desounen: Dialogue with Death continued the company's engagement with Caribbean history, political violence and identity. Later projects such as Profit & Nothing But! and Sometimes in April addressed economic power, genocide, historical trauma and the consequences of political conflict. The company therefore developed a recognizable identity around films that connect individual stories with wider questions of history and power. In the 2000s and 2010s, Velvet Film continued producing or co-producing both fictional and nonfiction works. Moloch Tropical, Murder in Pacot and Soley extended its Caribbean and Haitian focus, while I Am Not Your Negro brought James Baldwin's writings and legacy to a broad international documentary audience. The Young Karl Marx represented a historical narrative project centered on the early intellectual and political life of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The company has also supported long-form television and documentary projects. Exterminate All the Brutes, released in 2021, examined colonialism, racism and historical representation through a hybrid documentary format. Silver Dollar Road, released in 2023, continued the company's interest in land, displacement and structural inequality. Ernest Cole: Lost and Found was listed among the company's later productions, as was Orwell: 2+2=5, identified in the supplied reference material with a 2025 date. Velvet Film is now based in France, Haiti and the United States. Rather than operating as a mass-market studio with a large slate of unrelated commercial entertainment, it has served as a flexible international production and co-production platform. Its catalogue is closely connected to Raoul Peck's work, while its partnerships have allowed the films to reach cinema audiences, television viewers, documentary platforms and international festival circuits. The company's continuing profile is therefore defined by politically engaged filmmaking, cross-border production and sustained attention to Haiti, Africa, the Caribbean, colonial history, race and social justice.

• 2025

  Orwell: 2+2=5

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Orwell: 2+2=5 is listed in the supplied production catalogue as a 2025 Velvet Film project.

• 2024

  Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is listed among Velvet Film's later documentary productions.

• 2023

  Silver Dollar Road

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Silver Dollar Road is listed among the company's later productions.

• 2021

  Exterminate All the Brutes

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Velvet Film is associated with the documentary television project Exterminate All the Brutes.

• 2016

  I Am Not Your Negro

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The company is associated with the documentary I Am Not Your Negro.

• 2005

  Sometimes in April

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Velvet Film is listed among the production companies associated with the historical drama Sometimes in April.

• 1990

  Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète is produced

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary is identified as Velvet Film's first feature production; it subsequently circulated successfully in Europe and North America.

• 1987

  Haitian Corner is released

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Haitian Corner becomes one of the company's earliest listed productions.

• 1986

  Velvet Film is founded

  [1]Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Raoul Peck establishes Velvet Film in Berlin, Germany, initially as Velvet Film GmbH.

An internationally oriented, auteur-led film production company focused on politically engaged feature films, documentaries and television dramas, particularly projects connected to history, memory, colonialism, race and social justice.

• Feature film · 1987

  Haitian Corner

  An early Velvet Film feature released in 1987 and connected to the company's recurring interest in Haitian identity, politics and social experience.

• Documentary feature · 1990

  Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète

  A documentary about Patrice Lumumba and the political memory surrounding his life and death. It was Velvet Film's first feature production and gained circulation in Europe and North America.

• Television drama · 2005

  Sometimes in April

  A historical drama centered on the Rwandan genocide and its human consequences, reflecting Velvet Film's emphasis on politically engaged narrative cinema and internationally relevant historical subjects.

• Feature film · 2014

  Murder in Pacot

  A Haiti-related narrative feature listed among Velvet Film's productions, extending the company's engagement with the country's social and political realities.

• Documentary film · 2016

  I Am Not Your Negro

  A documentary built around James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript and reflections on race in the United States. The film brought Velvet Film's politically focused documentary work to a broad international audience.

• Historical feature film · 2017

  The Young Karl Marx

  A historical drama depicting the early political and intellectual partnership of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, demonstrating the company's capacity to produce period narratives alongside documentaries.

• Documentary television series · 2021

  Exterminate All the Brutes

  A documentary television project examining colonialism, racism and the construction of historical narratives through a hybrid, essayistic approach.

• Documentary film · 2023

  Silver Dollar Road

  A documentary focused on land ownership, displacement and structural inequality, consistent with Velvet Film's interest in social justice and the relationship between history and lived experience.

• Documentary film · 2024

  Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

  A documentary project listed among the company's later productions and associated with the photographic legacy and historical record of Ernest Cole.

• Documentary film · 2025

  Orwell: 2+2=5

  A project listed in the supplied reference catalogue as a 2025 Velvet Film production. Further production and release details are not specified in the available material.

1. 1Velvet Filmen.wikipedia.org