The story can begin in three different places
It may already be unfolding inside your organisation.
It may still need to be uncovered.
Or it may begin independently through What If You Didn’t?, with your organisation helping make it possible.
Here are the three ways we work together.
Documentary partnerships
A story connected to your organisation is already happening, and we work together to document it.
Story discovery
You know the work matters, but need an outside perspective to find the strongest documentary within it.
WIYD editorial partnerships
An independent story is already being developed, and your organisation helps make it possible.
Documentary partnerships
When a real story is already unfolding
A breakthrough is being tested. A landscape is changing. A community is being affected. A founder is approaching a defining decision. A long-term project is beginning to show results.
These are not messages invented for a campaign. They are real events connected to your organisation that deserve to be understood.
We work with you to identify the strongest human perspective, gain meaningful access and follow the people, choices and consequences that carry the story.
The result is a documentary shaped around what is genuinely happening, not a corporate script disguised as one.
This may be right for you when
something important is happening now
the work is difficult to explain through conventional marketing
real people are affected by the outcome
the process contains uncertainty, change or meaningful decisions
the story extends beyond the company itself
What the collaboration involves
We begin by understanding the work, the people involved and what is genuinely at stake. Together, we define the central documentary question, the necessary access and the moments that may matter most.
Production can involve a focused filming period or follow events over several months. The scope is shaped around the natural timeline of the story rather than an arbitrary content format.
What the organisation receives
Depending on the project, the collaboration may include a main documentary, shorter edits, photography, social material and versions adapted for your various channels.
Distribution, usage rights and any independent publication are agreed before production begins.
Example
Lykke Coffee Farms in Uganda
Rather than making a film only about the company, we followed the wider system around its work: coffee farmers, local processing, knowledge exchange and the possibility of improving both quality and income.
One journey created an independent documentary story, brand-specific material and a deeper record of work that most customers would otherwise never witness.
Story discovery
When the work matters, but the story is still difficult to see
Being close to the work gives you knowledge. It does not always give you perspective.
You may have several projects, people and possible directions, but no clear sense of which one could carry a documentary. Or you may know something important is changing without yet understanding where the story begins.
Story discovery gives you an outside documentary perspective before you commit to production.
What we explore
who could carry the story
what is changing
where the tension or uncertainty lies
what the audience needs to understand
which moments should be documented
what access would be required
whether the company should be the main character at all
The process
1. Understanding the work
We begin with conversations, existing material and focused research into the organisation, subject and wider context.
2. Finding the documentary
We explore possible characters, questions, tensions and moments together with the people closest to the work.
3. Building the Story Map
We turn the findings into a practical Documentary Story Map that identifies the strongest direction and what it would take to develop it.
What the client receives
The Documentary Story Map may include the central question, possible characters, narrative tension, access needs, key moments, editorial considerations, format possibilities and recommended next steps.
You can use it to guide a film with us, another production partner or your own internal team.
WIYD editorial partnerships
Help make an independent story possible
What If You Didn’t? is Robin Danehav’s independent documentary platform about people who choose to act instead of waiting for someone else.
Some films begin through Robin’s own curiosity, research and encounters. When an upcoming story naturally overlaps with your organisation’s work, values or audience, there may be an opportunity to help make it possible.
Your organisation helps make a story worth telling possible, while the film retains the editorial independence that gives the partnership its credibility.
A partnership may include
acknowledged support or presenting partnership
access, expertise, locations or practical resources
participation where editorially relevant
selected material for the organisation’s own channels
additional brand-specific content produced alongside the documentary
opportunities to share the film with employees, customers or communities
The exact model depends on the story, but editorial independence remains part of the value. The film must still be something an audience would choose to watch even if the organisation’s name were removed.
Commissioned or editorial?
Both models use documentary storytelling, but they begin in different places and give the organisation a different role.
Commissioned documentary
A documentary developed with your organisation around a real story connected to your work.
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Where it begins
The collaboration begins with your organisation, its work and the story unfolding around it.
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How it is developed
We identify the strongest human perspective and develop the scope, central question and practical objectives together.
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Your organisation’s role
You commission and fund the production, provide access and collaborate throughout the process.
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Where it lives
The film is created for the agreed audience, channels and uses. Independent publication can also be discussed where relevant.
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Rights and deliverables
Deliverables, usage rights and distribution are clearly defined in the project agreement.
WIYD editorial partnership
An independent What If You Didn’t? documentary that your organisation helps make possible.
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Where it begins
The collaboration begins with an independent story already being researched or developed for WIYD.
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How it is developed
The subject and editorial direction are shaped through Robin’s independent documentary process.
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Your organisation’s role
You help enable the film through funding, access, expertise or practical support when there is a natural alignment.
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Where it lives
The documentary is published through the WIYD platform for its own audience, with the partnership acknowledged appropriately.
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Rights and deliverables
Visibility, participation and any additional brand-specific material are agreed separately, while WIYD retains editorial independence.
A commissioned documentary is a film we create with you.
A WIYD editorial partnership is an independent film you help make possible.
Not sure where your story belongs?
You do not need to arrive with a finished idea.
Tell us what is happening, what is changing and why this moment feels important. We will help you work out whether the right starting point is story discovery, a commissioned documentary or an editorial partnership through WIYD.