The Robin Pront-helmed crime thriller was slated for SXSW's Midnighters program. It is unclear whether the film will screen on Amazon later this month as part of the recently announced SXSW virtual fest.
Another SXSW film is off the market.
Saban Films has acquired U.S. rights to Robin Pront’s The Silencing, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), Annabelle Wallis (The Mummy) and Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After).
The crime thriller was an official selection of the SXSW Film Festival and slated for the Midnighters program. It is unclear whether the film will screen on Amazon later this month as part of the recently announced SXSW virtual fest.
Written by Micah Ranum, The Silencing follows a reformed hunter (Coster-Waldau) living in isolation on a wildlife sanctuary who becomes involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse when he and the local sheriff set out to track a vicious killer who may have kidnapped his daughter years ago.
Anova Pictures’ Cybill Lui Eppich (Pay the Ghost, After the Dark) produced. Saban Films, which partnered with XYZ Films on the project at script stage, executive produced along with XYZ Films’ Aram Tertzakian and Maxime Cottray. However, Saban Films had no guaranteed right to distribute and thus made the acquisition.
“Nikolaj and Annabelle are fantastic in this thrilling tale that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats," Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley said. "While we are deeply saddened that it could not premiere at this year’s SXSW, we are honored to be able to share Robin Pront’s film with our audiences.”
Despite a near total shutdown of the film industry due to the novel coronavirus, film acquisitions have continued in a virtual marketplace. Neon recently acquired worldwide rights to Amy Seimetz’s apocalyptic thriller She Dies Tomorrow, also a SXSW title (XYZ also negotiated the sale of that title).
Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal on behalf of Saban Films alongside Endeavor Content and Nate Bolotin at XYZ on behalf of the filmmakers.
