Documentarian Alex Gibney Teams Up With a Google Billionaire

At a time when the documentary film business is atrophying, one of the world’s leading documentarians, Alex Gibney, has taken on a powerful partner: Wendy Schmidt, a billionaire philanthropist by way of Google.“We’ve been managing to make films on important social issues for a long time, but finding and getting those stories to audiences has been a challenge, in part because of the consolidation of the entertainment industry,” Mr.Gibney said in a video interview on Wednesday.

“By partnering with Wendy, we’re making sure that Jigsaw is around for the long haul,” he added, referring to his company.Mr.Gibney, 71, said he had sold a majority stake in Jigsaw Productions to Ms.

Schmidt, who is married to Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google.Mr.

Gibney will continue to run the company, which has produced more than 80 films since the early 2000s.Those include “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief,” “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley” and the Oscar-winning “Taxi to the Dark Side,” about the use of torture by the United States in its “war on terror.”Jigsaw, which turns a profit, according to Mr.

Gibney, also has a nonfiction TV business (more than 200 episodes produced) and a growing podcast division.Jigsaw is based in New York and currently employs 15 people.Financial terms were not disclosed.Ms.

Schmidt, 69, said in a video interview that Jigsaw would broaden its editorial focus to include more stories on climate change and ocean health, topics that have been central to her family’s philanthropy.She said that her goals for Jigsaw included deepening “impact storytelling and public interest journalism,” along with helping the company find “more innovative distribution options,” which could include virtual reality experiences.“This is about trying to assume a mantle, a role that we think is a vital one in the film business,” Ms.

Schmidt said.�...