FEATURE FILM ARCHIVE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION SABAN FILMS • 13 FILMS • AMAZON PRIME

THE FORGIVEN

“Based on Michael Ashton's play 'The Archbishop and The Antichrist' — Archbishop Desmond Tutu faces notorious mass murderer Piet Blomfeld.”

DIRECTOR

Roland Joffé

Two-time Academy Award® Nominee

PRODUCERS

Craig Baumgarten & Roland Joffé

13 Films / Saban Films / Prime Video

STARRING CAST

Forest Whitaker & Eric Bana

Desmond Tutu & Piet Blomfeld

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

Warren Gray

Production Designer

PRODUCTION DESIGN DIRECTIVE & HISTORICAL WORLD-BUILDING

Production design of The Forgiven was based on an exhaustive forensic study of South Africa’s 1990s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) proceedings and post-apartheid history. Meticulous architectural and period accuracy was essential in order to secure official permission from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Foundation. Key built and transformed environments included the oppressive brutalism of Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, high-tension interview & interrogation rooms, Bishop's Court TRC meeting rooms, Cape Flats riot sequences, and forensic desert exhumation sites. The deliberate desaturated palette and harsh fluorescent textures visually anchored the moral weight of the narrative.

Showing 16 of 16 Archival Presentation Slides

SHEET 01 / 16 KEY ART & BRIEF The Forgiven Production Design Brief

The Forgiven — Key Art & Design Overview

Project overview sheet detailing official credits, Tutu Foundation sanction, Pollsmoor prison research, and TRC period palette parameters.

SHEET 02 / 16 FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS Desert Exhumation & Pollsmoor Corridors

Desert Exhumations & Prison Cells

Cinematic stills highlighting forensic bone excavation in sand dunes, Pollsmoor cell doors, and anti-apartheid murals ("Paradise Lost").

SHEET 03 / 16 PERIOD PROPS & VEHICLES Desmond Tutu Arrival & Cape Daily Period Papers

Tutu Arrival & Archival Prop Dressing

Desmond Tutu's ministerial vehicle arrival, period Cape Daily newspapers, inmate restraint chains, and warder interrogation chambers.

SHEET 04 / 16 SOLITARY CONFINEMENT Maximum Security Solitary Cells

Maximum Security Solitary Cells

Brutalist reinforced steel prison corridors, solitary bunk staging, warder escort staging, and authentic gang tattoo art direction.

SHEET 05 / 16 COURTYARD BACKLOT Prison Exercise Yard & Stunt Choreography

Pollsmoor Prison Exercise Yard

High-walled courtyard build featuring concrete weights, goal frames, inmate orange jumpsuit aging, and on-set directing with Roland Joffé.

SHEET 06 / 16 PRISON MESS HALL

Warder Control, Communal Bunks & Dining Hall

Inmate Mess Hall & Warder Staging

Communal meal hall with stainless steel plates, baton-wielding warder security details, and dramatic silhouette back-lighting design.

SHEET 07 / 16 INTERROGATION SCENES Interrogation Room Lighting & Whitaker vs Bana

Interrogation Chamber Climax

Overhead fluorescent rig in the steel-meshed interview booth, capturing the high-stakes philosophical duel between Tutu and Blomfeld.

SHEET 08 / 16 TOWNSHIP STREETS Cape Flats Township Staging, Street Riots & Market Stalls

Cape Flats Township & Butcher Stall

Authentic township market dressing with "Smiley" sheep heads, period rusted vehicles, barricade tires, and armored riot transport.

SHEET 09 / 16 RIOT ACTION SEQUENCES $Police Confrontation, Riot Squads & Military Vehicles$

Township Riot Confrontation

High-octane action sequence staging: South African police tactical riot armor, tear-gas smoke canisters, and yellow armored personnel carriers.

SHEET 10 / 16 ARCHBISHOP RESIDENCE Bishop's Court TRC Executive Meeting Chambers

Bishop’s Court TRC Executive Chambers

Warm mahogany boardroom dressed with authentic Episcopal oil portraits, period telephone systems, and official TRC commissioner dossier folders.

SHEET 11 / 16 DESERT EXHUMATION Desert Forensic Excavation & Panavision Cinematography

Dune Graves & Panavision Rigging

Steadicam and Panavision crane rigs capturing the harrowing discovery of hidden apartheid-era victims in white desert sands.

FEATURED SHEET 12 3D CAD MODEL & BUILT SET Interrogation Room 3D Digital CAD Model vs Built Soundstage Set

Interrogation Room: 3D Model vs Soundstage Build

Core Design Pipeline: Warren Gray's full 3D digital wireframe & architectural CAD models of the interrogation cell (Project 1) alongside the finished soundstage set featuring two-way observation glass and CRT surveillance stations (Project 2).

SHEET 13 / 16 COLOR PALETTE & MOOD Pollsmoor Prison Interview Room Color Palette Swatches & Corridors

Pollsmoor Moodboard & Color Palette

October 2016 original production design mood board with exact color swatches (drab sage, institutional mint, slate charcoal) matched against authentic Pollsmoor prison corridors.

FEATURED SHEET 14 PENCIL DRAFTING & LOCATION BUILD Hand-Drawn Rural Village Architecture Elevation vs Location Build

Rural Village: Hand Sketch vs Built Set

Hand-Drawn Drafting: Warren Gray's original hand-penciled elevation drawing of thatched and corrugated rural huts (Project 1) directly compared to the completed, weathered mud-and-thatch location set build (Project 2).

SHEET 15 / 16 ARMORED VEHICLES Military Casspirs, Riot Vehicles & Color Palette vs On-Set Staging

Armored Military & Police Fleet Moodboard

Archival photographic research on SAP police helicopters, Casspir riot transporters, and barricade vehicles paired with final live-action riot set dressing.

SHEET 16 / 16 CELL FABRICATION Overcrowded Communal Cells & Yard Color Palette vs Set Construction

Communal Bunk Cells: Research vs Built Set

Dehumanizing overcrowded cell moodboard with warm earth tone swatches (Project 1) contrasted with the physical soundstage cell block and courtyard construction (Project 2).