Survival Drama Made Its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival

Saban Films has acquired U.S. rights to Academy Award® Winner Casey Affleck’s narrative feature debut, Light of My Life.  Written, directed by and starring Affleck (Manchester by the Sea, Interstellar), the dystopian survival drama also stars breakout star Anna Pniowsky (“PEN15”) and Golden Globe® Winner Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Mad Men”).  Light of My Life made its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in the Panorama section.

Light of My Life follows a father (Affleck) and child (Pniowsky) who journey through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half the world’s population. As a father struggles to protect his child at all costs, their bond, and the character of humanity, is tested.

“This has been a passion-driven project for the filmmakers, who have crafted a beautiful and sophisticated film, grounded with superb performances,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley. “We couldn’t be more honored to be part of such a dedicated team. Our audiences will fall in love with the intensity and sincerity of this character-based survival drama, focusing on a strong father-daughter bond.”

The film, fully financed by Black Bear Pictures, was produced by Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Affleck on behalf of Sea Change Media. John Powers Middleton also produced.  Executive producers are Black Bear’s Michael Heimler and Ben Stillman, and Sea Change’s Whitaker Lader.

“On behalf of everyone involved in the making of Light of My Life, I’d like to thank Saban Films for their passion, commitment and support,” said Schwarzman. “Light of My Life has been a labor of love for the entire cast and crew, and we look forward to working with Saban to bring Light of My Life to audiences across America.”

Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban Films, with Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers. Sierra / Affinity is handling international rights.

Saban Films most recently announced their partnership with Kevin Smith’s highly-anticipated Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, coming on board from script stage for the sequel to the 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.  The company remains active in the acquisition and distribution space, with upcoming titles including: Richard Bates Jr.’s horror thriller Tone-Deaf, which just made its World Premiere at SXSW and stars Robert Patrick and Amanda Crew; Danny A. Abeckaser’s Mob Town starring David Arquette; The Haunting of Sharon Tate starring Hilary Duff; Derrick Borte’s American Dreamer starring Jim Gaffigan; The Professor, the Wayne Roberts-directed drama starring Johnny Depp; and Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s A Vigilante starring Olivia Wilde.

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 James Marsh’s King of Thieves starring Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon; the anthology Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Jim Sturgess; the Gerard Butler starrer The Vanishing; Alexandre Moors’ The Yellow Birds starring Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, Jason Patric, Jack Huston and Jennifer Aniston; Eshom and Ian Nelms’ lauded feature Small Town Crime starring John Hawkes and Octavia Spencer; and Ivan Kavanagh’s Never Grow Old starring John Cusack and Emile Hirsch. 

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 Financial Officer and Ness Saban, Vice President of Business Development.