ABOUT US
Our Story
DEPTFORD 2005-2010
We started making student recruitment films for universities and colleges back in 2005 when only 25% of universities featured any video content on their websites at all, and even those were little more than the size of a postage stamp.
We also started operating our first film studio (in Deptford) that year so we were able to offer a wide range of content from the word go. We also started out as we meant to go on, investing in our in-house team of filmmakers and creatives rather than relying too heavily on a freelance model. It meant that we could build our insight and expertise in the education and non-profit sectors.
Our first home on the building’s top floor next to Creekside, Deptford (2005)
Studio shoot at Deptford in (2006)
Our reputation had a massive boost when we won the IVCA Award (2008) for recruitment with Durham University against stiff competition from large corporates who traditionally dominated the sector. By the end of that year we had 25 university clients including many in the Russell Group.
Alongside our growing portfolio of university clients, we have produced pro bono work every year for local charities. Some of our projects saw disadvantaged young people involved in the filmmaking process, like Georgina Studd who overcame her cerebral palsy condition to win at the First Light Movie Awards (2008).
Filming with Perri Shakes-Drayton, Brunel University (2012)
WATERLOO 2010-2015
Our continued growth meant the business had to find larger premises and we relocated to the centre of London with a much larger studio complex based on Webber Street. As well as making content for universities and the non-profit sector, we were increasingly producing high-end films and cinema / TV advertising for leading brands and creative agencies.
Amongst many highlights was our work for BMW, a Tier 1 sponsor of the London Olympics 2012, which saw us interview each of the UK medal winners. Separately that year, we also filmed with athletes Usain Bolt and Perri Shakes-Drayton for Brunel University and the following year, Adam Gemili for University of East London.
The studios started to function as a business within a business and were branded Waterloo Film Studios where clients increasingly included the major broadcasters like the BBC and ITV. As the company grew to some 40 members of staff, for the first time we were able to adopt an agency approach and set up a creative department solely dedicated to script writing, graphics and animation.
Whilst our list of charity clients grew to include the National Trust, Marie Curie and Macmillan Cancer Support, we forged new working relationships to support local charities that included the Webber Street Mission and The Fostering Network. In 2014 we were proud to start our first film project for Tusk Trust which sees us filming across African countries each year to tell the inspirational stories of award-winning conservation projects.
Our studio premesis Webber Street, Waterloo
KENNINGTON 2015 – 2023
When the studio building at Waterloo was earmarked for residential development we had to find a new home. We moved a mile up the road to Kennington and into a vacant studio that was once used for Richard and Judy and The Paul O’Grady Show. We installed two new studios and a number of edit suites.
373 Kennington Road, Kennington
2023 – PRESENT
Maia Films is now owned and operated by Small Films Ltd, an education film specialist. Based in Hackney, the creative team work out of Mare Street Studios, a former furniture factory and Victorian warehouse.
