Second Run Pictures
London-based specialist Blu-ray and DVD label releasing classic and contemporary world cinema, with an emphasis on underrepresented European, Asian, and Latin American filmmakers.
Overview
Second Run Pictures is a London-based specialist Blu-ray and DVD label founded in 2004 by Evin Thayer. The company releases classic and contemporary world cinema on premium physical media in the UK, with a particular emphasis on underrepresented filmmakers from Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Second Run occupies a niche adjacent to the BFI's home video label, Eureka's Masters of Cinema series, and Arrow Films, releasing carefully curated editions of films that are significant in world cinema history but often overlooked by larger home entertainment labels.
Second Run's catalog is notable for its depth in Eastern European cinema -- Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, and Polish films that are canonical within their national traditions but rarely distributed in the English-speaking world. This specialization gives Second Run a distinct identity in the UK collector market and a reputation for discovering and championing underappreciated films.
What Second Run Releases
Second Run's releases span:
- Czech New Wave cinema including films by Jiri Menzel, Milos Forman, Vera Chytilova, and Jan Nemec
- Hungarian cinema including films by Miklos Jancso and Bela Tarr
- Polish cinema including key works by Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Zanussi
- Latin American cinema from Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico
- Selected Asian cinema from Iran, South Korea, and Japan
- Documentary films with archival and historical significance
Each release is typically produced with a new transfer, a booklet with scholarly liner notes, and contextualizing supplementary material. The production values are consistent with Criterion Collection standards, positioning Second Run as a premier collector label for the specific regions it covers.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Second Run is primarily a home entertainment label for archival and classic material rather than an acquisition target for contemporary releases. For filmmakers with catalog titles from the regions Second Run covers -- particularly Eastern European, Latin American, or historically significant world cinema -- the label is a relevant contact for home video rights in the UK.
For contemporary filmmakers, Second Run is less relevant as a distribution partner but highly relevant as a model: the company demonstrates how specialist home entertainment labels serve dedicated film audiences who value presentation quality and contextual depth over catalog volume.
See Also
For how premium home entertainment labels generate revenue from classic film catalogs, see Distribution Deals Explained. For UK arthouse and specialist distributors serving the cinephile audience alongside theatrical releases, see the broader Film Distributors Directory.
