Director Martin Scorsese has finally secured financing for his passion project Silence, which the filmmaker has been trying to get off the ground for the past 20 years. Fábrica de Cine and SharpSword Films have come aboard to fully finance the film and produce, with production now set to begin on January 30 in Taiwan. Paramount Pictures announced in July that they will release the drama in November 2015, but Deadline's report reveals the studio is aiming for a 2016 release. Here's what Martin Scorsese had to say in a statement about Silence moving forward.

"I've wanted to make Silence for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword to work with on this picture."

Andrew Garfield is starring as one of two Jesuit priests who, in the 17th Century, take a journey to Japan to find their mentor who has abandoned the church. Along the way, they face violence and persecution in this dangerous land. Ken Watanabe is starring as the priest's Japanese interpreter, with Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Issei Ogata also starring in unspecified roles.

Martin Scorsese is directing from a screenplay by Jay Cocks, which is adapted from Shusaku Endo's novel. Gaston Pavlovich will produce alongside Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFinawith, with Dale Brown, Matthew Malek, Tyler Zacharia, George Furla and Chad A. Verdi serving as executive producers.