Documentary Production & Automation Services

Independent
documentary.
Built for small teams.

Early Stage Production Support Workflow
01 · About

Sort Engine

Sam Payne, documentary producer and founder of Sort Engine

Sort Engine is run by Sam Payne, a documentary co-producer with over 20 years of experience across UK, US, and European co-productions, with credits including Sundance, BAFTA and Emmy award-winning films, working with indies such as Sonja Henrici Creates, MetFilm, Passion Pictures and many more.

"Sam is a producer I want to have by my side across all my projects. Whether for the detail or the big picture — I completely trust her experience, taste and pragmatism. Plus she has a keen eye on how we might make our life easier through automation and workflow."
Sonja Henrici, Sonja Henrici Creates
02 · Services

What we do

01

Early Stage

First budget, first schedule, estimated tax credits. The structural thinking that shapes everything a production does next. Getting this right early is the best investment a film can make.

02

Production Support

Ad hoc support during production, as and when you need it. Sam can step in at any stage, whether that's a specific problem to solve, a gap in the team, or simply an experienced pair of eyes on a production that's grown complicated.

03

Workflow Systems

So many productions lose time and budget to admin that can now be automated. Sort Engine designs, builds and maintains workflow tools specifically for small documentary teams, including: CV and applicant pipelines, receipt logging, finance management, deliverables tracking. The savings in time and money are real.

Smarter systems.
Leaner workflows.

Sort Engine helps small indies do more with less.

03 · Credits

Selected work

Film Role Festival / Platform
The Reason I Jump Co-Producer Sundance 2020Disney+
Merkel Line Producer TellurideNetflix
Birds of War Associate Producer Sundance 2026
Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon Associate Producer Berlinale 2026
LADY Co-Producer BFI London 2025
IMDb LinkedIn
04 · Contact

Get in touch

Please drop us a line to chat through what your production needs.

hello@sortengine.co