Saban Films To Release THE FORGIVEN Starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana In Theaters on 3/9

Saban Films today announced the release of the upcoming thriller, The Forgiven, in theaters on March 9 with a theatrical expansion on March 16 to also include VOD and Digital HD. Directed by Academy Award® NomineeRoland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission) and starring Academy Award® Winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, The Butler) and Eric Bana (Munich, Troy), the film was co-written by Joffé and Michael Ashton, and based on Ashton's play "The Archbishop and The Antichrist". The Forgiven had its world premiere at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival.

In The Forgiven, when Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Forest Whitaker) is appointed to head a nationwide investigation, he's summoned to a maximum-security prison by a notorious murderer seeking clemency (Eric Bana). Inside the brutal prison walls, Tutu is drawn into a dangerous, life-changing battle with the cunning criminal.

The Forgiven is produced by Joffé alongside Link Entertainment's Craig Baumgarten and Zaheer Goodman-Bhyat of Light and Dark Films, with financing being provided by The Fyzz Facility. Kim Ashton, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Robert Jones, John R. Sherman, Tannaz Anisi, Greg Schenz, Jeff Gum, Jeff Rice, Lee Broda executive produced.

Most recently, Saban Films acquired Alexandre Moors' war drama The Yellow Birds, starring Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, Jason Patric, with Jack Huston and Jennifer Aniston. The company also recently partnered with Toronto-based Mongrel Media to release their 2018 North American titles in Canada, creating a distribution pipeline in NORTH AMERICA with a slate of films which will include The Yellow Birds, as well as Roland Joffe's The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana; Alexandros Avranas' True Crimes starring Jim Carrey and Charlotte Gainsbourg; and Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms' Small Town Crime starring John Hawkes and Octavia Spencer.

Saban Films continues to grow its presence in the industry, with successes that have run the gamut from critically acclaimed theatrical films such as The Homesman starring Hilary Swank, to one of the biggest Fathom events in 2016 with Rob Zombie's horror thriller 31. Recent titles include Taran Killam's Killing Gunther starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Ric Roman Waugh's Shot Caller starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lake Bell, War on Everyone starring Alexander Skarsgård, Michael Peña, and Theo James; The Girl with All the Gifts starring Gemma Arterton and Glenn Close; and Ethan Hawke action thriller 24 Hours to Live.

Saban Films, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group ("SCG"), is a film acquisition and distribution company which acquires high-quality, feature films to distribute in North America. Focusing on commercial, talent driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production for release across multiple platforms, including a day and date theatrical/VOD release strategy. Based in Los Angeles, Saban Films was established by Haim Saban, SCG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is led by Bill Bromiley who serves as president, Shanan Becker, Chief Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Vice President of Business Development.