From CANNES: Star-Studded Romantic Drama "Berlin, I Love You" Finds North American Home With Saban Films

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Los Angeles-based film acquisition and distribution company Saban Films has acquired the North American rights to Berlin, I Love You.  The notable cast includes Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren, Academy Award® nominee Keira Knightley, Diago Luna, Luke Wilson and Jim Sturgess.

Told as an anthology feature of ten stories of romance set in the German capital, directors Fernando Eimbcke, Dennis Gansel, Massy Tadjedin,  Peter Chelsom, Til Schweiger, Justin Franklin, Dani Levy and Dianna Agron will each helm different segments with Josef Rusnak directing the transition sequence tying up all the episodes.

The film is produced by Claus Clausen and Edda Reiser (Walk on Water Films) alongside Alice De Sousa (Galleon Films) and Skady Lis (Getaway Pictures) as co-producers. Emmanuel Benbihy is executive producing, and the film was financed by VX119 Media Capital, whose managing partners are Jeff Geoffray and Jeff Konvitz. 


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Highland Film Group is handling worldwide sales together with Disrupting Influence's Glenn Kendrick Ackermann and Jason Piette, with CAA Media Finance co-repping the U.S. rights with Highland and Disrupting Influence. Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal on behalf of Saban Films, who are planning a theatrical release.

Berlin, I Love You is a sequel in the Cities of Love franchise, founded by Emmanuel Benbihy, following Paris Je T'aime in 2006 and New York, I Love You in 2009. The film will continue to share stories of romance set in the German capital, where production wrapped in November 2017.

Berlin, I Love You marks Saban’s fourth acquisition out of the Cannes Film Festival also adding Matthew Ross’ Siberia starring Keanu Reeves, the Gerard Butler starrer Keepers and David L.G. Hughes’ Viking Destiny to their slate. Earlier this year, Saban Films bought Craig William Macneill’s racy drama Lizzie, starring Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart out of the Sundance Film Festival where it premiered in-competition. 

Saban Films’ slate includes: Brad Silberling’s war thriller An Ordinary Man starring Academy Award® Winner Ben Kingsley; Alexandre Moors’ The Yellow Birds starring Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, and Jason Patric, Jack Huston and Jennifer Aniston; and Alexandros Avranas’ Dark Crimes starring Jim Carrey and Charlotte Gainsbourg.


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Since the company’s launch in 2014, Saban Films has released 40 films and continues to be active in the acquisition and distribution space, with successes that have run the gamut from critically acclaimed theatrical films such as The Homesman, to one of the biggest Fathom events in 2016 with Rob Zombie’s horror thriller 31.  Recent titles include: Roland Joffe’s The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana; 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 Highland Film Group

Led by Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an independent worldwide sales, production and film financing company. HFG provides financing through a combination of pre-sales to help cover senior and subordinated debt, gap, tax credit, and facilitates capital for mezzanine and equity financing.

The Highland Film Group slate also includes: The Manuscript starring Morgan Freeman; the star-studded Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna, and Jenna Dewan Tatum; Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie; Jon Avnet’s Three Christs starring Richard Gere; Eric Bress’ supernatural psychological thriller Ghosts of War starring Brenton Thwaites; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; and Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan.