Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held
independent American movie studio until it was purchased by Canadian studio
Lions Gate Entertainment in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and distribution agreements. Mark Amin funded Artisan and sale was rumored to be backed by Keyur Patel, a media investor in formation of new studio. Its headquarters and private screening room were located in
Santa Monica, California. It also had an office in
TriBeCa,
Lower Manhattan,
New York City.