Launched in 2013, First Look Media was founded on the belief that freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the power of storytelling are essential to an informed society and vibrant culture. Today, First Look consists of Topic Studios, the award-winning entertainment studio that develops, produces, and finances feature films, documentaries, television, and podcasts, and the Topic streaming service, offering crime, thrillers, and mysteries from around the world. First Look’s non-profit arm, First Look Institute, recently spun-off the investigative news outlet The Intercept, and documentary film unit Field of Vision, into their own independent organizations. In addition, it transitioned its Press Freedom Defense Fund into a new press freedom initiative at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, and its Lawyers for Reporters program into a new initiative at the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice.