The 68th Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC) is to host the Australian premiere of Paul Greengrass’ hijack thriller Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks.

The premiere, presented with Sony Pictures Releasing, will be held on Oct 13 at the Hoyts CTG Theatre, Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Gold Coast.

Sony’s likely awards contender charts the 2009 hijacking of the US container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. 

Tom Hanks has been widely tipped for awards recognition for his portrayal of Phillips, who becomes engaged in a tense standoff with his Somali counterpart, Muse (Barkhad Abdi).

Billy Ray’s screenplay is based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. Producers are Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca.

Captain Phillips opens in Australian cinemas on Oct 24.

It is also set to open the London Film Festival (Oct 9), Tokyo International Film Festival (Oct 17) and New York Film Festival (Sept 27). The latter marks the world premiere.

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