Overview
Wide House was the documentary sales division of Paris-based Wide Management, founded in 2010 by Loic Magneron and headed by Anais Clanet. The division specialized in international sales of feature documentaries, TV formats, and documentary series, with particular strength in European public broadcaster relationships. Wide House was created as a specialty arm within Wide Management, which was already representing more than 20 new fiction features per year and had a library of 500-plus fiction titles.
In 2020, Anais Clanet departed Wide House to launch Reservoir Docs, a new documentary sales company in partnership with Frederic Corvez's Urban Group. The Wide House catalog moved with Clanet to Reservoir Docs. Wide Management retains a library of approximately 300 documentary titles, but the active documentary sales operation formerly known as Wide House now operates as Reservoir Docs.
This entry covers the Wide House operation as it existed from 2010 to 2020 and its continuation as Reservoir Docs. Filmmakers seeking documentary sales representation from the team that built Wide House should contact Reservoir Docs directly.
Distribution Model
Wide House operated as an international sales agent, not a territorial distributor. The company acquired worldwide rights (excluding producers' domestic territories) and licensed those rights to territorial distributors, broadcasters, and streaming platforms market by market.
The company pursued theatrical releases for select titles where festival reception and critical response justified cinema distribution. However, the primary revenue stream for most Wide House documentaries came from broadcaster licensing across European territories. Public broadcasters like Arte (Franco-German), BBC, ZDF, NDR, SVT, DR, and NRK provided licensing fees that formed the financial backbone of most deals.
Wide House did not operate a direct-to-consumer distribution channel. The company's role was intermediary: connecting documentary filmmakers with territorial buyers at markets including IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, Cannes (Marche du Film), and AFM. Revenue flowed back to producers after the sales agent's commission, typically 20 to 25 percent.
History and the European Documentary Sales Market
Wide House was created in 2010 when Wide Management identified documentary as a growth area requiring dedicated expertise. Magneron appointed Anais Clanet, who had been with Wide Management since 2006, to head the division. Under Clanet's leadership, Wide House built a catalog of 300-plus documentaries and became one of the more active documentary-focused sales companies in the Paris market, operating alongside Doc and Film International and Alpha Violet.
The division attended IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, Cannes' documentary-adjacent sections, and major markets including AFM and the Marche du Film. Wide House's focus on documentary gave it deep knowledge of the broadcaster licensing market, a revenue stream that theatrical-only distributors often underutilize.
European public broadcasters including Arte, BBC, ZDF, NDR, SVT, DR, and NRK collectively finance and broadcast hundreds of documentary features per year. Wide House's broadcaster relationships gave it the ability to pursue this revenue stream systematically across multiple European territories.
Transition to Reservoir Docs (2020)
In June 2020, Anais Clanet launched Reservoir Docs within Frederic Corvez's Urban Group, effectively continuing the Wide House operation under a new name and corporate structure. The Wide House catalog of documentary titles transferred to Reservoir Docs. Clanet described the transition as not a new company but "the old set-up but with a new name and a new shareholder in Corvez."
Reservoir Docs continues the Wide House tradition of specializing in cultural and political documentary. Notable titles on the Reservoir Docs slate include Mark Cousins' A Sudden Glimpse of Deeper Things (narrated by Tilda Swinton, winner of the Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe), The Cemetery of Cinema (Berlin Panorama 2023), Green is the New Red (IDFA 2024), Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 (directed by Goran Hugo Olsson), The Eichmann Trial, and Mrs Robinson (a documentary about the first female President of Ireland).
Clanet has noted that the documentary market has become significantly tighter since the pandemic. In a 2024 Cineuropa interview, she stated that international buyers have gone from acquiring around 15 documentaries per month from international sales agencies to just 1, and that she now takes 5 to 9 documentaries per year onto her slate, compared to 15 in 2020. This contraction means documentary filmmakers face a more competitive acquisition environment than existed during Wide House's peak years.
Example Titles They've Released
During its operation from 2010 to 2020, Wide House represented documentaries that screened at major festivals and sold to broadcasters worldwide. Key titles and deals included:
- I Am Not Your Negro (2016, Raoul Peck) - Oscar-nominated documentary based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript. Sold to multiple territories including US (Magnolia Pictures), UK, France, and Germany. The film grossed approximately $7 million at the US box office, a strong figure for a documentary.
- The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011, Goran Hugo Olsson) - Sold worldwide. The film compiled rediscovered Swedish television footage of the Black Power movement. Distributed in the US by IFC Films.
- Two in the Wave (Emmanuel Laurent) - a portrait of Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut that sold to the UK (New Wave Films), US (Kino Lorber), Canada (FunFilm Distribution), Japan (Cetera International), Germany (Mouna), and Italy (Cinecitta Luce).
- Bantu Mama (2021) - international sales via Wide.
- El Gusto (Safinez Bousbia) - documentary about Algerian chaabi music.
The company also developed the Eye on Films label, dedicated to first films, with 70 partners including 40 festivals and 70 distributors, supported by the European Union's Media Mundus program.
Deal Structure Reputation
Wide House operated on a commission-based sales model. The company acquired international sales rights to completed documentaries and charged a commission of 20 to 25 percent on all sales. The company did not typically pay minimum guarantees (MGs) to acquire documentaries, relying instead on the commission model where revenue flowed only after sales were completed.
For broadcaster pre-sales arranged during production, the sales agent's commission applied to the pre-sale amount. Pre-sale deals with Arte, BBC, ZDF, and other European broadcasters typically involved a licensing fee in exchange for territorial broadcast rights. These pre-sales could contribute 10 to 30 percent of a documentary's production budget depending on the subject's international appeal.
The company did not report specific deal figures to trade publications like Deadline or Variety, as documentary sales operate at budget levels below the threshold of major industry trade reporting. Deal terms were consistent with standard European documentary sales agent practices.
Typical Acquisition Profile
Wide House (and now Reservoir Docs) acquired feature documentaries with strong international subjects, established directors, and potential for both theatrical release and broadcaster licensing. The company looked for films premiering at major nonfiction festivals: IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, and Cannes.
The company did not operate an open submissions portal. Acquisitions were sourced through festival attendance, direct filmmaker outreach, and industry network referrals. Documentary filmmakers seeking representation needed a festival premiere or strong festival strategy in place before approaching the company.
Editorially, Wide House favored cultural and political documentary, arts films, and historical documentaries. The company avoided conventional factual television, corporate documentary, and reality-style content. Films with established director track records, name narrators (Tilda Swinton, Samuel L. Jackson), or connections to well-known subjects had higher acquisition probability.
Recent Slate and Acquisition Activity
Reservoir Docs (the continuation of Wide House) currently acquires 5 to 9 documentaries per year, down from 15 in 2020. Recent and current slate titles include:
- A Sudden Glimpse of Deeper Things (2024, Mark Cousins) - winner of the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary 2024. Narrated by Tilda Swinton. Theatrical release in UK and Ireland through Conic Films (October 2024).
- The Cemetery of Cinema (2023) - Berlin Panorama selection.
- Green is the New Red (2024) - IDFA selection.
- Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 (Goran Hugo Olsson) - historical documentary.
- The Eichmann Trial - documentary about the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann.
- Mrs Robinson - documentary about Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland.
Clanet stated in 2024 that she has 6 documentaries being completed for launch, bypassing IDFA that year due to timing. The market contraction means fewer acquisition slots and more selective picking.
Documentary Broadcaster Pre-Sale Financing
For documentary filmmakers whose subjects have international resonance, broadcaster pre-sales negotiated through a sales agent like Reservoir Docs can contribute meaningfully to a film's financing budget before production is complete. Pre-sale deals with Arte, BBC, ZDF, and other European broadcasters typically involve a licensing fee in exchange for territorial broadcast rights, with the sales agent taking a 20 to 25 percent commission.
For filmmakers outside France, engaging a sales agent with established broadcaster relationships during development or early production is the standard approach. Cold outreach to broadcasters directly without a sales agent intermediary is rarely effective, as commissioning editors prefer to work through established sales agent channels.
Watch: Trailers and Interviews
What Filmmakers Should Know
Wide House is now Reservoir Docs. Filmmakers seeking the team, catalog, and market relationships that operated under the Wide House banner should contact Reservoir Docs directly. Anais Clanet continues to head the operation. Wide Management retains its 300-title documentary library but the active documentary sales operation has moved.
Reservoir Docs acquires 5 to 9 documentaries per year, down from 15 in 2020. The company looks for documentaries with strong international subjects, established directors, and potential for theatrical release alongside broadcaster licensing. Films that premiere at IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, or Cannes are the most likely acquisition targets.
The documentary sales market has contracted significantly since 2020. Clanet has stated that platforms now produce so much content internally that they need far less external documentary acquisition. Filmmakers should temper revenue expectations and focus on building strong broadcaster pre-sale packages rather than relying on post-completion sales alone. The most reliable financing comes from pre-sales arranged during production, not from post-completion sales.
See Also
For the parent company and its fiction sales operation, see Wide Management in this directory. For how broadcaster licensing fits into the documentary distribution strategy alongside theatrical and streaming, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model the revenue from European broadcaster licensing combined with theatrical and streaming sales for a documentary, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For documentary film festival strategy and which festivals attract documentary sales agents, see the Film Festivals Directory.
