EXCLUSIVE: Bob Yari, producer of Oscar winner Crash and exec producer on TV series including Yellowstone and The Mayor Of Kingstown, and his WonderHill Studios partner Marvin Peart (The War With Grandpa), are teaming up with the Georgian government and Eastern European and Central Asian investment firm Silk Road Group in a bid to grow the number of Hollywood film and TV productions filming in Georgia.
With direct support from the Georgian government, WonderHill and Silk Road have launched film production and financing JV WonderSilk Studios (WSS), which is also aiming to accelerate local productions.
The aim is to forge public and private partnerships with the government and large companies in Georgia and the region. WSS wants to help pave the way for Hollywood studios and indie film producers to tap into local sites, tax credits (the country has a 20-25% rebate), studios, personnel and talent. To date, Georgia has not developed as a major filming hub in the way some Eastern European countries have, but the ambition is to change that.
Local investment group Silk Road owns Silknet, the largest fixed-line, cable TV, broadband, and IPTV provider in Georgia. The idea is to leverage Silk Road’s infrastructure — including hotels, resorts, casinos, wine estates and ski resorts — and its telcom and media reach — to help drive production business.
WonderHill and Silk Road are also aiming to expand their partnership into Kazakhstan. Their ambition is to have helped facilitate multiple big-budget projects filming in both countries by end of next year.
Yari and Peart (pictured above and below) launched U.S. company WonderHill Studios earlier this year. The duo are co-founders with David Glasser of 101 Studios, producer of Taylor Sheridan’s slate of hit series including Paramount’s Yellowstone. Yari in 2005 founded the Yari Film Group, whose credits include The Illusionist and Possession. Also coming up from that company is Sheridan’s Western series Bass Reeves for Paramount+. He was also a producer on Best Picture Oscar winner Crash.
Peart spent 10 years in New York as Executive Vice President and Head of A&R for Sony Music Entertainment before going on to co-found indie production company Marro Media. Credits as producer include The War with Grandpa and Life On The Line.
Peart with Georgian Minister of Culture Thea Tsulukiani.
“The best model for success in the movie industry is the public-private partnership. On one hand the successful model would be achieved through the leading cooperation of Georgian and American film companies and on the other hand through participation of the ministry of economy and sustainability. In this case the success means more Hollywood in Georgia and more Georgia in Hollywood,” explained Irakli Nadareishvili, the Deputy Minister of the Economy and Sustainability for Georgia.
“One of WonderHill Studios’ visions is to bring the greatest stories of the world from lesser-known countries to the silver-screens of America. Today, standing at the gateway of east and west in the ancient country of Georgia, after listening to the legends of the Georgian Kings and Queens and the fascinating tales of the original nomads of Kazakhstan I’ve discovered that these great nations and I as an African American filmmaker and movie executive from Brooklyn have more in common than I had ever imagined,” commented Marvin Peart WonderHill Studios Co-Founder & Co-CEO.
“Silk Road Group is proud to be part of this first of its kind film studio in Georgia in partnership with WonderHill Studios and its founders who have delivered some of the most impactful TV and film content in the United States in recent years. Combined strength of the founders of the WonderSilk studios in direct cooperation with the Georgian Government will provide the best platform for engagement between Hollywood and Georgian film industry and most importantly it will bring Georgian and American culture, history and the people even closer together,” said George Ramishvili, Chairman of Silk Road Group.
The Georgian Film Studios in capital city Tbilisi is currently one of the country’s few studio facilities. But the government has been trying to grow the level of production in the company for a number of years. F9: The Fast Saga (2019) was one major Hollywood production to film a number of scenes in the capital city, but the pandemic put pay to the desired stream of projects entering the country, which offers offers a 20-25% cash rebate on qualified expenses incurred in Georgia, which boasts some striking landscapes.
The country isn’t currently part of the EU. In June 2022, the European Commission established Georgia’s eligibility to become a member of the EU, but deferred giving it official candidate status until after certain conditions were met.
