Renny Harlin Launches Harlin House to Back European Filmmakers

Director Renny Harlin has launched a new production company, Harlin House, aimed at supporting up-and-coming European directors. He made the announcement at Helsinki's Night Visions International Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A production company, or banner, is the outfit that develops a film, lines up its backing and oversees it from script to screen. Harlin co-founded Harlin House with Johanna Harlin and Max Michael of M3 Global Strategy. Johanna Harlin leads the company's community and hosts the Harlin House podcast.

Filmmakers who join will develop their projects through the Harlin House Fellowship, working with Harlin and the company's advisory board. Only after that stage will the company choose which projects to produce. The founding advisory board includes Colin Trevorrow, Tim Miller, Kyle Balda and Janet Change Balda.

The company also has a fan-investor route. Through Republic Film, film fans can join as founding investors and earn a share of what the films make. Every investor can pitch an original film idea. Selected ideas will be optioned, which is a deal that gives a company the right to develop an idea for a set period. The person who pitched the idea receives a story credit on the finished film.

The timetable is ambitious but modest in its opening steps. Harlin House hopes to make its first movie next year, then two films a year after that. Over its first five years, the company aims to produce seven to 10 films, according to the same report.

For European filmmakers, the appeal is the structure. A fellowship offers development support before any film is greenlit, which means a project can grow before it reaches a buyer or a festival. For fans, the fan-investor model and the pitch route put a direct door into a production process that usually stays closed to the public.

Harlin is a Finnish-born director whose films have included action titles made for major Hollywood studios. Harlin House now starts the work of turning its founding plans into projects.