EXCLUSIVE: Fifth Season has entered a multi-picture financing deal with HarbourView Equity Partners (HarbourView), the New York investment firm with a significant music portfolio and growing investments in film and TV.
The first films under the deal are The Peasant, the Fifth Season co-production directed, co-written, and led by Dev Patel, and set for release by A24; and Nightwatching, the Fifth Season production starring Mila Kunis and Clancy Brown, with Picturestart and Scott Free Productions.
The Peasant, which has begun filming, is co-written by Oscar nominee Patel and Will Dunn, whose credits include the Emmy winner Ms. Marvel. Fifth Season is producing the film alongside India Take One Productions, Minor Realm, and Thunder Road. The film, which will combine medieval knights with feudal India, follows a 14th-century shepherd as he pursues revenge against mercenaries who ravaged his community, bringing his true nature to light as he hunts them down.
Nightwatching, adapted from the debut novel by Tracy Sierra, stars Kunis and Brown alongside Emmy nominee Corey Hawkins. In addition to Fifth Season, producers include Ridley Scott via Scott Free Productions, Picturestart, and Kunis’ newly launched banner Brick for Sheep. The “tense, atmospheric thriller follows Lee, a mother who, during a relentless winter storm, wakes to an intruder in her home and struggles to protect her children in a harrowing game of doubt and danger.”
HarbourView’s entertainment investments to date have focused on film, TV and music catalogs, including those of Kelly Clarkson, George Benson, Luis Fonsi, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Nelly, Wiz Khalifa, and others.
The deal was negotiated by Liz Polk (The BALA Firm). Evie Whiting (Sidley Austin LLP) and Dan Stutz (Stutz Law Corp.) served as legal counsel to HarbourView.
“At HarbourView, we approach entertainment IP the way we approach music IP: building a diversified, curated portfolio anchored in cash-generating, culturally resonant content and selectively layering in forward pipeline alongside the most disciplined creative partners,” said Sherrese Clarke, founder and CEO of HarbourView Equity Partners.
She continued: “Fifth Season is exactly that kind of partner, and projects like The Peasant and Nightwatching reflect the type of opportunities we are focused on: distribution already secured, talent of the highest caliber, and stories with global resonance.”
“This partnership gives us the opportunity to further scale our slate of premium films,” said Fifth Season President of Film Chris Slager. “HarbourView brings a sophisticated understanding of the entertainment ecosystem and a shared belief in the value of high-quality storytelling from exceptional talent. We look forward to working with them on The Peasant, Nightwatching, and other equally resonant films in the future.”
Fifth Season’s upcoming film slate also includes Animals, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, with Netflix and Artist Equity, and You Deserve Each Other, starring Meghann Fahy and Penn Badgley, for Amazon. For the small screen, upcoming are East of Eden, starring Florence Pugh, based on John Steinbeck’s classic, for Netflix; and The Good Daughter, starring Meghann Fahy and Rose Byrne, for Peacock; and Southern Bastards, starring Kevin Bacon and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, based on the graphic novel, for Hulu.
English (US) ·