Saban Films Nabs Cinelou’s All Star Cast War Drama “The Yellowbirds”

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Los Angeles-based film acquisition and distribution company Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Alexandre Moors' The Yellow Birds, starring Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, Jason Patric, with Jack Huston and Jennifer Aniston.

The war drama, which made its World Premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography, was produced by Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton for Cinelou Films, and Jeff Sharp for Story Mining & Supply Company. Saban Films is planning a theatrical release in Spring 2018.

Written by David Lowery and R.F.I. Porto, and based on the novel by Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds follows two young soldiers, Bartle (Ehrenreich) and Murph (Sheridan), who navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling. All the while, Bartle is haunted by a promise he made to Murph's mother before their deployment. 


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"Alexandre's style is so unique, he has created a visual chef-d'oeuvre with The Yellow Birds," said Saban Films' Bill Bromiley.  "The performances are emotional and revelatory of those directly impacted by the tolls of war.  We're honored to bring this film to wider audiences."

Cinelou Films' Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon added, "Following its success at last year's Sundance Film Festival where it received a Special Jury Award, it was paramount to us that The Yellow Birds and its profound message reach a wider audience. Saban's dynamic team of professionals and their enthusiasm for the film makes them the ideal companion for Cinelou. There's a great synergy between the two companies and a meaningful film at the center of it that we are all very excited about."

Executive Producers on the film were Jennifer Aniston and Kristin Hahn, Cinelou's Scott Karol and the Fyzz Facility's Wayne Marc Godfrey and Robert Jones. Stephanie Caleb co-produced for Cinelou Films.

Ness Saban and Bill Bromiley negotiated the deal on behalf of Saban Films, with Scott Karol at Cinelou Films and Deb McIntosh at WME.


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Most recently at the AFM, Saban Films announced a partnership 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

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.

About Cinelou Films

Cinelou Films is a full-service, feature film development, financing and production company based in Los Angeles. Cinelou's mission is to produce prestigious, critically acclaimed movies by auteur directors with powerful, moving and memorable stories & performances, as well as a select number of modestly budgeted titles with strategic partners in mainstream, millennial favored genres.

As Co-CEOs of Cinelou Films, Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton employ their vast network of resources, from their combined forty-five years of experience in the film industry, to bring only exceptional projects to life.  At its inception in 2014, Cinelou released its first film Cake, starring Jennifer Aniston, Sam Worthington and Anna Kendrick. Cake garnered Golden Globes, SAG and Critic's Choice nominations, and quickly proved that the combination of experience and vitality that both Solomon and Canton bring to Cinelou Films was a recipe for success.

The Cinelou Films slate has continued to evolve and expand with the production of outstanding films such as the heartwarming Mr. Church, starring Eddie Murphy and Britt Robertson and the riotous black comedy The Comedian, starring Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, and featuring Harvey Keitel, Danny Devito, and Edie Falco. Cinelou also financed and released the sci-fi psychological thriller, Phoenix Forgotten, co-produced with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions.  Most recently they produced the touching, quirky adventure drama Burn Your Maps, starring Vera Farmiga, Jacob Tremblay, Virginia Madsen, and Suraj Sharma; and the powerful, modern war drama, The Yellow Birds, starring Jennifer Aniston, Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, and Jason Patrick.

Coming soon is Nightmare Cinema, a horror anthology starring Mickey Rourke, with veteran horror directors, Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Alejandro Brugues, Ryûhei Kitamura, and David Slade. Another Recent announcement from Cinelou Film is a reboot of the 1970s comic book heroine Red Sonja alongside Millennium Media, launching what is sure to be the next fan-favorite franchise.  The team at Cinelou Films is passionate about independent film and committed to bringing that passion to each and every one of their projects.