‘The Promise’ Picked Up by Open Road Films, Gets April Release Date
Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon in “The Promise”
LOS ANGELES– Open Road Films has acquired U.S. rights to “The Promise,” the Armenian Genocide-themed movie produced by Kirk Kerkorian’s Survival Pictures, Deadline.com on Friday, adding that it will be released in April.
“The Promise” had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and went on to receive critical acclaim.
Open Road, which acquired and distributed last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, “Spotlight,” said that the film will bow for wide distribution on April 28, 2017.
Oscar Issac in “The Promise”
“We are proud to add this prestigious film to our 2017 slate,” said Open Road’s Tom Ortenberg, according to Deadline. “An epic love story set against a turning point in world history, The Promise features top-notch performances and first-class filmmaking and we are looking forward to sharing the movie with audiences across the country.”
The film, which hails from award-winning director of Hotel Rwanda, Terry George, stars Golden Globe winner Oscar Issac, Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon in the lead.
George, who was nominated for a best director Oscar for “Hotel Rwanda,” co-wrote “The Promise” with another Academy Award nominated screenwriter Robin Swicord. In March 2013, George was a guest of the Armenian State Pedagogical University, where the Irish filmmaker compared the Armenian Genocide to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
The film, which also stars, Charlotte Le Bon, James Cromwell, Marwan Kenzari, Jean Reno, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Angela Sarafyan, among others, completed shooting in Europe last fall.
After shooting was completed on the film, Survival Pictures co-manager and a producer of the film, Eric Esrailian told Asbarez in an email that “Kirk will be proud,” referring to Kerkorian. “That makes all of the hard work even more special.”
“The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomes the great news that The Promise will be distributed nationally this coming April,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We encourage our community and coalition partners to spread the word about this powerful Armenian Genocide-era drama – sharing trailers, re-posting articles, commenting on reviews, and using the hashtag #ThePromise. Start planning now to take your friends to this film on opening weekend, and be sure to take a moment to encourage your Members of Congress to watch, by visiting anca.org/ThePromise.”