Saban Films Acquires "CALM WITH HORSES" From Executive Producer Michael Fassbender

SABAN FILMS ACQUIRES “CALM WITH HORSES” FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL FASSBENDER


LOS ANGELES (February 12, 2020) – Saban Films announced today that they have acquired North American rights to Nick Rowland’s (Ripper Street, Hard Sun) feature film debut Calm With Horses following its premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival. 

Starring Cosmo Jarvis (Lady Macbeth, Peaky Blinders), Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves, The Virtues) and Ned Dennehy (Peaky Blinders, Guns Akimbo), the crime drama was written by Joe Murtagh.

Calm With Horses is a DMC Film, Element Pictures production in association with Altitude Film Entertainment; developed and co-financed by Film4 and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland with the participation of The Western Region Audiovisual Producer’s Fund/WRAP Fund. Daniel Emmerson is producing, with Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan serving as executive producers, for DMC.

Further exec producers are Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures (Room, The Favourite), Sam Lavender, Sue Bruce-Smith and Daniel Battsek for Film4, Will Clarke and Mike Runagall for Altitude, Celine Haddad for Screen Ireland, and Sarah Dillon for the WRAP Fund. Element's Rory Gilmartin (Rosie) and Kate Glover (Black Mirror, McMafia) are serving as co-producers.

In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.

Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley said, “Nick Rowland’s debut shines through its cast of rising stars.  Each actor connects deeply with their roles as Nick’s direction pulls audiences into the West Ireland drug scene.”

Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban Films along with Altitude Film Sales and CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.

Saban Films continues to grow its presence in the industry, remaining active in the acquisition, production and distribution space. The company’s successes have run the gamut from critically acclaimed theatrical films such as The Homesman starring Hilary Swank, to two of the biggest Fathom events with horror icon and heavy metal mastermind Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell last year and Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, the sequel to the 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back which the company partnered on after coming onboard at script stage. Its upcoming slate includes: Jason Lei Howden’s Guns Akimbo starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy starring Elijah Wood, and Vivarium starring Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg.


ABOUT SABAN FILMS
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 Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Vice President of Business Development.

ABOUT DMC FILM
DMC Film is a talent led film and television production company, with a track record of building unique projects around Michael Fassbender as well as launching the careers of new filmmakers. DMC was founded by Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan in 2011. Producers, Daniel Emmerson and Theo Barrowclough joined in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

DMC’s first production was John Maclean’s debut feature SLOW WEST, which won the World Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. DMC has since produced Justin Kurzel’s MACBETH, and the movie adaptation of Ubisoft’s ASSASSIN’S CREED, (Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons) with New Regency and Fox. Most recently, they completed Nick Rowland's eagerly anticipated debut CALM WITH HORSES with Film4, which premiered to great reviews at Toronto International Film Festival and London Film Festival.

Future film projects on the DMC slate include Charlotte Regan’s debut SCRAPPER, Kibwe Tavares’ debut THE KITCHEN, DREADFUL NED, written by Joe Murtagh, THE LESSER BOHEMIANS, adapted from the novel of the same name by Eimear McBride, NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER by Kevin Barry and GENTLE IN THE BONES, written by Hayley Squires.

ABOUT ALTITUDE MEDIA GROUP
Altitude Media Group is the independent vertically integrated studio comprising of Altitude Film Production led by Will Clarke chairman and joint-CEO with Andy Mayson; Altitude Film Sales with Managing Director Mike Runagall; and Altitude Film Distribution with Managing Director Hamish Moseley.

Altitude Film Sales’ slate includes: Son, Ivan Kavanagh’s horror starting Andi Matichak and Emile Hirsch; Beards, directed by David Freyne and starring Fionn O’Shea, Lola Petticrew, Barry Ward and Sharon Horgan; The Power by BAFTA-nominated writer-director Corinna Faith and starring Rose Williams; Black Water Abyss directed by Andrew Traucki; Guns Akimbo directed by Jason Lei Howden and starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving which had its World premiere at Toronto; Billie directed by award-winning filmmaker James Erskine and produced by Victoria Gregory and Barry Clark-Ewers; SAS: RED NOTICE directed by Magnus Marten and starring Sam Heughan, Ruby Rose, Andy Serkis, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hopper, Noel Clarke and Tom Wilkinson; Rocks, directed by Sarah Gavron which received its World Premiere as the opening gala for Toronto’s director driven Platform selection; Calm With Horses directed by Nick Rowland and starring Cosmo Jarvis; Barry Keoghan, Ned Dennehy and Niamh Algar; Simon Bird’s directorial debut Days of the Bagnold Summer starring Monica Dolan, Earl Cave, Rob Brydon, Alice Lowe and Tamsin Greig; Sulphur and White directed by BAFTA-nominated Julian Jarrold and starring Mark Stanley, Emily Beecham, Anna Friel and Dougray Scott; Chasing Chaplin from BAFTA and Sundance nominated filmmakers Peter Middleton and James Spinney; and Great White directed by Martin Wilson.