Searchlight Films was founded by Kathryn Golden and Ashley James as a full service production company specializing in the making of documentary films for television. Our clients have included PBS, CBS, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC and many others. Searchlight has focused on making films that illuminate the many faces and aspects of America’s vast and diverse communities. Our companion services – most notably cinematography and editing – are seen in productions around the globe and the filmmakers we work with have received numerous awards in the television and film industry.
Searchlight has received support for its productions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Ford Foundation, the American Film Institute, the Pew Charitable Trust, the Polaroid Foundation and many other public and private funding organizations. Our goal has always been to make stories that are accessible. We strive to make our films small but expressive chapters in the life of this planet in the 21st Century