Marginal MediaWorks, Inc (“MARGINAL”) is a new type of media company focused on premium storytelling, from singular subcultures and voices. MARGINAL develops and produces feature film, series, animation, interactive/web3, and audio series, with a primary focus on commercially established genres & subgenres – thriller, horror, heist, near future sci-fi, comedy and aspirational narratives – from outsider points of view, writers and directors of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ community members, or “others” of all kinds in the US and globally.
MARGINAL embraces stories where identity is a prism, but not the plot. In its first few years, the company has produced 6 feature films (Amazon, HBO Max, Hulu), sold its first series (Amazon), sold its first animated series (Hulu) and its first scripted audio fiction series (Luminary). The company’s film projects have received countless awards and nominations, including from The Gotham Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, GLAAD, NAACP Image Awards, and the Imagen Awards.
The company aims to effect systemic change at once in the media industry, and in mass audience perceptions, through empowering and commercializing new storytellers, new narratives and new narrative systems. Nearly all of the company’s projects champion first and second time creators of color and women, truly expanding the ecosystem and pipeline in Hollywood, while often partnering with traditional Hollywood “A-List” talent. The company’s projects are filtered through its proprietary technology and coverage system, aimed at discovering creative voices, storylines and themes, that map against untapped audiences and market potential overlooked by a traditional studio or film financier lens.
MARGINAL often partners with and advises other producers, media firms, foundations and organizations, brands and marketers, on the importance and power of cultural intersectionality and premium storytelling.
The company was founded by Sanjay Sharma, and is a public benefit corporation. Sharma is also Chairman of the Board of CAPE, the Coalition of Asian American & Pacifics in Entertainment; and a founding Board Member of Gold House, the leading Asian and Pacific Islander changemaker community, fighting together for socioeconomic equity through commercial and creative entrepreneurship. He previously helped start and lead two transformative digital media companies Machinima, Inc, the first YouTube MCN (acquired by Warner Bros.) focused on videogaming and creator content; and All Def Media, based on the iconic Def Jam record label and HBO comedy franchise, focused on urban content, comedy, music and lifestyle. Sharma previously ran business development for adtech startup Spot Runner, and began his career at Warner Bros Pictures. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the Stanford Law School.