A bold, independent spirit defines everything we do at First Look Media – from journalism that holds the powerful accountable, to arts & entertainment that shapes our culture. Launched by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, First Look Media is built on the belief that freedom of expression and of the press, and fiercely independent perspectives, are vital to a healthy democracy and a vibrant culture.

Through our award-winning entertainment studio, Topic, we develop, produce and finance content for all screens including feature films, television, digital series and podcasts.

First Look’s entertainment business supports the work of our nonprofit side, which is home to The Intercept, dedicated to fearless, adversarial journalism; Field of Vision, the filmmaker-driven documentary unit; and The Press Freedom Defense Fund, supporting journalists, whistleblowers and others challenging actions that restrict press freedoms and impede access to information of public concern.

First Look co-financed Spotlight, the 2016 Academy Award®-winning Best Picture and has continued to support and build an impressive slate of feature films now under Topic Studios including: the critically acclaimed Leave No Trace, starring Ben Foster and written/directed by Academy Award nominee Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, Down to the Bone); The Oath, starring Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz; Roman J. Israel, Esq., starring Denzel Washington, written and directed by Dan Gilroy (Night Crawler); Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film about the Panama Papers scandal, The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas; The Climb, a feature-length version of the short comedic drama from Kyle Marvin and Michael Covino that premiered at Sundance in 2018; On the Other Side, with Carey Mulligan attached, which tells the story of Kate Webb, the female war correspondent who was held in captivity during the Vietnam War; Academy Award® nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s (Silence) directorial debut of Bastard with Martin Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff of Sikelia Productions, alongside producer Jordan Horowitz (La La Land) and Annie Marter.

In addition to feature films, our documentary film roster includes: Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas’ Pahokee, following four teens in their senior year of high school in a small agricultural town in the Florida Everglades; Dark Money, directed by Kimberly Reed (Prodigal Sons), about campaign finance battles in Montana between powerful Republicans, acquired by PBS with a limited theatrical run; Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker & Trails of Free Press, directed by Brian Knappenberger, on Netflix; Risk, from Academy Award® winner Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, on Showtime; and XY Chelsea, with Pulse and the BFI, which tells the story of Chelsea Manning, also acquired by Showtime.

First Look is also home to Topic.com, a new digital video platform with programming centered around monthly themes. Through fictional and non-fictional premium storytelling, Topic.com creates an experience that’s reflective of the culture, rather than merely reactive to it. Topic.com can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, and YouTube.

Our list of influential podcasts covering politics, current affairs and popular culture include the number one charting (iTunes) Missing Richard Simmons, the award-winning Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill, the insightful Deconstructed with Medhi Hasan; Surviving Y2K, Dan Taberski’s follow up to Missing Richard Simmons; and Murderville, featuring the exclusive reporting of award-winning Intercept journalists Jordan Smith and Liliana Segura. Topic recently announced an upcoming podcast with John Cameron Mitchell, Anthem, to launch in the coming months. We also publish The Nib, a site for the most provocative satirical and political comics by the award-winning Matt Bors and team, now also an animated series on Topic.com. The Nib launched their print magazine in 2018, published quarterly.