Film & Theatre Producer · Financier

Stories worth
backing.

Ryan Donnell Smith produces and finances independent film and Broadway theatre — pairing a distinctive capital model with hands-on production and a growing studio footprint in the American South.

Executive Producer · The Trial of the Chicago 7 Winston Holdings Thomasville Pictures
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Academy Award–Nominated✦Netflix✦Lionsgate✦Cannes✦Broadway✦Independent Film✦Film Finance✦Academy Award–Nominated✦Netflix✦Lionsgate✦Cannes✦Broadway✦Independent Film✦Film Finance✦
Founder Reel

The work, in motion.

♪Sound on
01

Selected Work

The Trial of the Chicago 7 poster
2020
Executive Producer
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Netflix · dir. Aaron Sorkin · Academy Award–nominated, Best Picture
Bandit poster
2022
Producer
Bandit
Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson
The Pale Blue Eye poster
2022
Executive Producer
The Pale Blue Eye
Christian Bale · Netflix
Sam & Kate poster
2022
Producer
Sam & Kate
Dustin Hoffman, Sissy Spacek
One Way poster
2022
Producer
One Way
Machine Gun Kelly, Kevin Bacon, Storm Reid
The Apprentice poster
2024
Executive Producer
The Apprentice
Sebastian Stan · Cannes 2024 Competition
Fast Charlie poster
2023
Producer
Fast Charlie
Pierce Brosnan, James Caan
Riff Raff poster
2025
Executive Producer
Riff Raff
Bill Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris
Flight Risk poster
2025
Executive Producer
Flight Risk
Mark Wahlberg · dir. Mel Gibson
Cash Out poster
2024
Executive Producer
Cash Out
John Travolta, Kristin Davis
Armor poster
2024
Executive Producer
Armor
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Patric
The Tiger Rising poster
2022
Producer
The Tiger Rising
Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah

A selection from a producing and financing slate of more than thirty independent features. Full filmography available on request.

02

On Broadway

Mrs. Doubtfire poster
Executive Producer

Mrs. Doubtfire

The Broadway musical-comedy adaptation of the beloved film.

A Wonderful World poster
Co-Producer

A Wonderful World

The Louis Armstrong Musical · Broadway, 2024–2025.

03

Recognition

As executive producer of The Trial of the Chicago 7

6×Academy Award nominations, incl. Best Picture
SAGWinner — Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
GlobeWinner — Best Screenplay
3×BAFTA Film Award nominations

Featured and interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, TheWrap, Awards Daily and Film Daily. Active at Cannes, TIFF, AFM and SXSW.

04

About

Ryan Donnell Smith began in Nashville at fifteen and worked his way up from low-budget web videos to multimillion-dollar commercials and feature films — becoming one of independent film's most prolific producer-financiers.

As President & Partner of Winston Holdings, he helped pioneer a tax-equity approach to film finance designed to be healthier for filmmakers than traditional equity. Alongside longtime partner Allen Cheney, he built Thomasville Pictures into a turn-key studio in South Georgia that has hosted a steady run of features.

"I want my name connected to projects that push society forward and cause people to ask questions."

His producing reputation crystallized with The Trial of the Chicago 7, and he has since extended his work to Broadway and to building the production infrastructure and capital vehicles behind the next generation of independent storytelling.

Based
Thomasville, Georgia
Founding Partner
Thomasville Pictures
President & Partner
Winston Holdings
Co-Founder
One Six One Capital
Mediums
Film · Broadway
05

Ventures

Winston Holdings

President & Partner

A specialized film-finance platform structuring tax-aware production investments, incentive-backed capital stacks, and investor-aligned financing solutions for qualified film and television projects.

Thomasville Pictures

Co-Owner

A boutique, turn-key studio and production-services company in Thomasville, Georgia. thomasvillepictures.com

One Six One Capital

General Partner

An investment fund launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2026. onesixone.capital

06

The Studio

Building durable production infrastructure across the American South — two turn-key studio campuses in Georgia and Mississippi, pairing stages and production services with the region's film incentives, real locations and a resident creative team.

3
Sound & green-screen stages
100,000
Sq ft of stage space
2
Studio campuses · GA & MS
6
Acre Natchez campus on the Trace
Thomasville, Georgia

Thomasville Pictures

Boutique, turn-key studio & production services
  • Production HQ, Broad Street 7,000 ft²
  • Partner lodging · Paxton House 13 BR
  • South Georgia locations library ✦
  • Georgia film tax incentive up to 30%
Natchez, Mississippi

Mississippi Campus

Stages on the Natchez Bluff & Trace
  • Sound stage 75,000 ft²
  • Sound stage 15,000 ft²
  • Green-screen stage 10,000 ft²
  • Production office space 17,000 ft²
07

Giving Back

Ryan Donnell Smith Performance Auditorium Center at Donelson Christian Academy

Championing the next generation of performers.

A supporter of arts education in his home community of Nashville, where a professional-grade performing-arts center now carries his name.

Donelson Christian Academy · Nashville, TN
The Ryan Donnell Smith Performance Auditorium Center

A sloped-floor theatre with full fly loft, professional audio-visual systems and rigging — the centerpiece of the school's performing-arts wing.

08

Press

Hollywood Reporter
At Cannes with the producers shaping independent film
2023
Variety
Backing an indie with Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek
2021
Awards Daily
On the importance of socially relevant cinema
2021
TheWrap
On building a new model for independent film finance
2018
Film Daily
The producer behind the Chicago 7 — in his own words
2021
Let's build
something lasting.
rs@thomasvillepictures.com
Draft — monochrome design direction. Hover posters for full color. Portrait & favicon still to add.