Actor Chris Pine Backs New Fund Supporting Socially Conscious Films
Actor Chris Pine is lending his support – and his personal experience – to a new nonprofit investment group aiming to finance films and television shows with a positive social message. Harbor Fund, based in Utah, has raised $15 million from 82 donors, with an average contribution of $250,000, and has already deployed $10 million across 22 projects.
Pine’s involvement stems from a childhood experience with financial hardship and a deep connection to the themes explored in Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.” He is producing a documentary based on the book, which follows eight families struggling to maintain housing in Milwaukee.
“The power of what we do as filmmakers… is really to remind people that we are not alone, that our experiences are transcendent,” Pine recently told an audience at the Sundance Film Festival, according to a statement. “This is one of those stories.”
Harbor Fund, co-founded and led by Lindsay Hadley, operates on the belief that film has the power to foster compassion and drive social change. “Good stories can change how people feel,” Hadley said. “We just really believe in the power of film and the entertainment world to harness a society of compassion.”
The fund’s advisory board includes prominent filmmakers such as Patty Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Amy Redford, and Mark Burnett, who provide guidance on project selection. Harbor Fund prioritizes projects that focus on shared values and avoid dehumanizing narratives, Hadley explained.
The organization aims to reach $100 million in funding over the next two years. Unlike traditional venture capital, Harbor Fund operates as a nonprofit, meaning donors do not expect a financial return on their investment. Instead, they choose projects they want to support, and any profits generated are reinvested into future films and television series.
Investor Shauna Ockey of West Point, Utah, contributed $350,000 to Harbor Fund with her husband, specifically to support the documentary “Orphan Myth,” which focuses on children separated from their families due to poverty. “Reuniting children with families so they don’t grow up in institutions is an important part of me and my husband’s value systems,” Ockey said.
Harbor Fund’s portfolio includes a film about the philanthropic legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey, the founders of the Hershey chocolate company, titled “Hershey,” and “Flash Before the Bang,” a movie about a deaf track team. The fund’s model is relatively rare, but taps into a growing investor desire to support projects with social impact.
“A lot of investors are putting money into film because they want to make a change in the world and they want the movie to help make that change,” said David Offenberg, an associate professor of finance at Loyola Marymount University.
The fund’s approach comes at a time when the traditional independent film business model is facing challenges. The decline of theatrical windows and a shrinking number of distributors have made it more difficult for independent films to find audiences and secure funding. However, Hadley believes Harbor Fund’s diversified portfolio and unique structure will allow it to thrive.
Investor Lloyd Roberts, based in Calgary, cited the impact of the 2006 Will Smith film “The Pursuit of Happyness” as an example of how motion pictures can inspire change. “You can have someone stand onstage and tell you these ideas, but you put it in a feature film like ‘The Pursuit of Happyness,’ and you feel like you have a firsthand view of how putting it into practice can help you,” he said. “One of the best mechanisms for an idea is not just documentaries but motion pictures that have an underlying message that pulls on their heartstrings.”
