Saban Films has made one of the first acquisitions of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, buying the rights to the sexual abuse drama “Romans” starring Orlando Bloom, the studio announced Thursday.
Directed by Ludwig and Paul Shammasian, the film stars Bloom as a man struggling to cope with the sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of a priest, and who now has the opportunity to demolish the church where his abuse occurred.
The drama is written by Geoff Thompson, who previously worked with the Shammasians on “The Pyramid Texts,” and produced by Jasper Graham of Dreamscape along with James Harris and Mark Lane of The Fyzz Facility and Sheetal Vinod Talwar of Vistaar Film Fund, in association with Zee International.
Bill Bromiley and Ness Saban negotiated the deal for Saban Films with Double Dutch International’s Jason Moring, on behalf of filmmakers.
“This is a heart-rending and sobering film,” said Bromiley in a statement. “Ludwig and Paul have a powerful and timely story here, and Orlando really takes it home.”
“Romans is a brave film that tells a very delicate story and has strong performances that put you in the midst of it. We applaud the producers for taking the risk and are excited to have Saban Films as our domestic partner” says Moring.
The film also stars Janet Montgomery, Charlie Creed-Miles Josh Myers and Anne Reid, the last of whom won the award for Best Performance in a British Film for her performance in this film at the Edinbrugh International Film Festival, where the movie premiered.
Bloom, who is best known for his work on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, is next set to star in the Afghanistan war film “The Outpost” alongside Taylor John Smith and Caleb Landry Jones. He is repped by ICM Partners, ITG, and Lighthouse Management.
Variety first reported the acquisition.