Lee Tamahori’s historical action epic The Convert has been acquired for distribution in multiple territories, including Magnolia Pictures in North America for a July 12 release date.
The film world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, and stars Guy Pearce, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Antonio Te Maioha, Jacqueline McKenzie and Lawrence Makoare.
UK sales outfit Mister Smith Entertainment has also closed deals with Germany’s Capelight Pictures, Spain’s Divisa Red, WW for Benelux, Front Row Entertainment in the Middle East, Monolith Films for Poland, Arna Media for CIS and the Baltic States, Blitz for Ex-Yugoslavia, Ascot Elite for Switzerland, The Film Group for Greece and Cyprus, and Shaw Renters for Singapore. Cinesky acquired airline rights.
The film debuted theatrically in New Zealand last month and is the highest-grossing local production of the year to date.
The Convert is set in early 19th-century New Zealand, and shot on New Zealand’s North Island. When lay preacher Thomas Munro (Pearce) arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand, his violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes.
The script is by Shane Danielsen and Tamahori, originated from a story by Michael Bennet. Producers are Robin Scholes and Te Kohe Tuhaka of New Zealand’s Jump Film & Television and Andrew Mason and Troy Lum of UK-Australia outfit Brouhaha Entertainment. The producers described the film as a “ground-breaking epic feature to give audiences a truly breath-taking cinematic experience”.
The film is an official New Zealand/Australia co-production made with funding from the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Government’s Te Puna Kairangi Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund, MBK Productions, and with the support of the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Grant, the Australian Producer Offset program, and the New South Wales Post Digital and Visual Effects rebate, facilitated by Fulcrum Media Finance.
No comments yet