First Look at ‘The Water Diviner,’ Russell Crowe’s Directorial Debut

Russell Crowe‘s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, will get a Boxing Day 2014 release in its home territory of Australia, distributor eOne confirmed as it debuted the film’s official trailer on Wednesday.

The trailer shows the film’s broad sweep, with the fabulous Australian and Turkish landscapes shot by Andrew Lesnie (The Hobbit trilogy, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes). It primarily focuses on Crowe, who also stars in the film as Australian farmer Connor. In the film, he journeys from the Australian bush to Istanbul, Turkey, to discover the fate of his two sons, who were believed killed or captured in the ill-fated World War I Gallipoli campaign.

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Olga Kurylenko (A Perfect Day, Oblivion), who stars as the hotel owner in Istanbul who Connor forges a relationship with Connor, also features in the trailer, as does Yilmaz Erdogan (Once Upon A Time In Anatolia) , the Turkish officer who gives Connor hope that his sons are alive, and Jai Courtney (Divergent) as Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

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The Water Diviner is one of number of Australian productions being made to commemorate the centenary of the Turkish campaign, where thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers died after the British Army Britain launched a naval attack and a subsequent landing on the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25, 1915, with the eventual aim of capturing the Ottoman Empire capital of Constantinople.

Penned by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, The Water Diviner is being produced by Andrew Mason and Troy Lum for Hopscotch Features, and by Keith Rodger for Fear of God Films, with backing from RatPac Entertainment, Seven Network Australia and private investors.

Entertainment One Australia and Universal Pictures Australia will co-distribute The Water Diviner in Australia and New Zealand. The Weinstein Co will release the film in the U.S. Mister Smith Entertainment is managing international sales.