Redeeming Love was filmed in the Winelands region of Stellenbosch, South Africa over an eight-week period starting in February 2020. The production injected over R110m into the local economy and employed 620 South Africans including crew, cast, extras, and dailies.
Local businesses were involved with over 450 vendors and suppliers providing goods and services necessary for the Hollywood release.
Nthibah Pictures CEO, Simon Swart, said, “The hard work and collaboration of local and international teams came together and produced a great film that caught the attention of Universal Pictures. The deal is a great moment in our short company history and delivers on our promise of producing films that have global appeal.”
Securing distribution with Universal solidifies Nthibah Pictures’ ambitions to become an African production company with international reach. Nthibah has further confirmed its strategic partnership with the Capstone Group, to manage the foreign sales of the film.
Redeeming Love takes place against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush of 1850. The story centres on Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child. She has survived through hatred and self-loathing until she meets Michael Hosea and discovers there is no brokenness that love can’t heal.
“Universal Pictures is a perfect home for our film,” said the film’s director D.J. Caruso. “They have a rich history in enabling films to find their core audience and beyond. I am excited for fans of the book and even for those who haven’t read it, that they will be able to experience Angel’s journey up on the big screen where it belongs. Every actor and crew member felt the significance of the story we were telling, and it enhanced and elevated the film in a profound way.”
The film is based on the novel Redeeming Love, which has remained on multiple fiction best-seller lists for over 15 years and has been published in more than 30 languages. Francine Rivers, the New York Times best-selling author of over 30 books, is thrilled to be one step closer to seeing this work come to fruition. “After many years of dreaming about this, followed by years of work alongside D.J., we can’t wait to see the story come to the big screen next year.”
Directed by D.J. Caruso, Redeeming Love stars Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Logan Marshall-Green, Famke Janssen, Nina Dobrev, and Eric Dane. The film is slated for release in early 2022 under the Universal Pictures banner.
