Submarine Entertainment

Overview

Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production, and distribution company run by twin brothers and co-founders Josh Braun and Dan Braun, with offices in Amsterdam and New York. The company has sold six of the last twelve Academy Award-winning documentaries: American Factory (2020), Citizenfour (2015), 20 Feet From Stardom (2014), Man on Wire (2009), The Cove (2010), and Searching for Sugar Man (2013). Submarine also brokered two of the largest documentary sale deals in Sundance history: Boys State sold to Apple for $12 million in 2020, and the Billie Eilish documentary sold to Apple for $26 million.

The company operates three divisions: Submarine Entertainment (international sales), Submarine Deluxe (theatrical distribution, founded 2009), and a production arm. Approximately 60% of revenue comes from sales, 40% from production and distribution via Submarine Deluxe. The company has a staff of approximately eight people.

For documentary and independent narrative filmmakers seeking international sales representation, Submarine is one of the most active and successful sales agents operating at Sundance, IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, and other major documentary festivals. The company is particularly known for representing the Sundance U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner five consecutive years (2016 to 2020).

History

Josh and Dan Braun launched Submarine Entertainment in 2007, building on backgrounds in independent film development and distribution. The company established itself quickly in documentary sales, representing films that achieved both festival profiles and commercial results.

Early sales included Man on Wire (2008, Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature), The Cove (2009, Academy Award winner), and Food, Inc. (2009, $4M domestic box office, top-grossing documentary that year). The company also sold Searching for Sugar Man (2012, Academy Award winner) and 20 Feet From Stardom (2013, Academy Award winner).

Submarine's catalog of notable documentary sales includes Blackfish (2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite's documentary about captive orca whales that contributed to SeaWorld's policy changes), The Act of Killing (2012, Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary about Indonesian death squad leaders, Academy Award nominee), Stories We Tell (2012, Sarah Polley), The Wolfpack (2015, Crystal Moselle, Sundance U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner), Tickled (2016), I Am Not Your Negro (2016, Academy Award nominee), One Child Nation (2019, Sundance U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner, sold to Amazon), American Factory (2019, Sundance, Academy Award winner, sold to Netflix via Higher Ground/Obama production), Boys State (2020, Sundance, sold to Apple for $12M), and Crip Camp (2020, Sundance opening night, sold to Netflix via Higher Ground).

In narrative cinema, Submarine has sold Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010, Academy Award nominee for Best Picture), Tiny Furniture (Lena Dunham, 2010), and brokered the Duplass brothers' seven-picture distribution deal with The Orchard in 2015.

Submarine Deluxe, the theatrical distribution division founded in 2009, has released All That Breathes (Academy Award nominee), War Game (2024 Sundance premiere, co-acquired with Decal Releasing, theatrical release August 2, 2024), I Called Him Morgan, Chasing Ice, Fire Music, and Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict.

Notable Productions

Submarine has sold or distributed some of the most commercially successful documentaries of the past two decades:

House Style / Genre Focus

Submarine specializes in documentary sales and distribution, with approximately 60% of revenue from sales and 40% from production and distribution. The company gravitates toward character-driven documentaries, social issue films, music documentaries, and investigative nonfiction. Submarine also handles select narrative features, particularly those with festival profiles and arthouse appeal (Winter's Bone, Tiny Furniture). The company does not represent big-budget action films, franchise content, or purely commercial studio projects. Submarine Deluxe, the theatrical arm, releases 2 to 4 titles per year focused on art, culture, and compelling human stories.

How They Typically Find Talent / Take Submissions

Submarine does not operate a public open submission portal. The company engages filmmakers through festival circuits (Sundance, IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, CPH:DOX), producer representatives, and direct outreach. Josh Braun has stated that he joins projects early, sometimes before filming begins, rather than waiting for festival premieres. Director Ryan White, a repeat collaborator, described Braun as "part of the process from the beginning." Filmmakers with completed or near-completed documentaries should contact Submarine through producers' representatives, festival programmers, or direct outreach via the Submarine website.

Recent Output / Slate Year

Submarine remains highly active in 2025 and 2026. Recent and upcoming titles include:

• Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025) - sales representative for US distribution
• Andre Is an Idiot (2025) - distributor for US, 2026 release
• Just Me, Jane (2025) - sales representative for US
• Pretty Ugly: The Story of the Lunachicks (2026) - international sales agent
• Blue Film (2025) - worldwide sales
• Jane Elliott Against the World (2026) - worldwide sales
• The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (2026) - production company
• Untitled Silk Road Documentary (2025) - worldwide sales
• Suburban Fury (2024 NYFF premiere) - negotiated US distribution deal with Kino Lorber (2026)
• A Century in Sound (2025) - sales agent alongside Double Agent, with Roman Coppola as executive producer, premiered at Sheffield DocFest

The company also has four titles in production as of 2026.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Submarine evaluates documentary and independent narrative films for international sales representation. The company is most active at Sundance (where it has represented the opening night documentary eight consecutive years and the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner five consecutive years), IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield DocFest, and CPH:DOX.

For documentary filmmakers, Submarine offers international sales expertise with a track record that includes six Academy Award-winning documentaries. The company typically engages with filmmakers early in the process, sometimes before filming begins, rather than waiting for festival premieres. Director Ryan White, a repeat Submarine collaborator, has stated that Josh Braun "is not your stereotypical sales agent that swoops in at the end... He's part of the process from the beginning."

The company's Amsterdam office connects filmmakers to European buyers and the Dutch production ecosystem, while the New York office provides access to the US market and streaming platforms. Submarine has closed deals with Netflix, Apple, Amazon, HBO Documentary Films, CNN, and theatrical distributors including Neon, Kino Lorber, and Decal Releasing.

Submarine Deluxe handles select theatrical releases for films the company acquires, typically releasing 2 to 4 titles theatrically per year. The division focuses on works exploring art, culture, social issues, and compelling human stories.

For filmmakers with completed or near-completed documentaries or independent narrative features, Submarine accepts submissions through industry channels. The company does not publicly list an open submission portal; contact is typically made through producers' representatives, festival programmers, or direct outreach to the company's website.

Key Data

Watch: Trailers & Behind the Scenes

See Also

For understanding how international documentary sales work, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue projections for documentary releases, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For calculating festival submission ROI, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator.