Samuel Goldwyn Films has snapped up the North American rights from Memento Films International to Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country, which earned the Special Jury Prize at Venice, where it bowed, and the Platform prize in Toronto.
The film, which stars Australian veterans Bryan Brown and Sam Neill, is a 1929-set outback Western inspired by true events, as it portrays an aboriginal couple on the run amid politics and racial tensions.
“Warwick’s film is beautiful even when it is brutal. We are very excited to work on a film that showcases this great rising talent,” Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films, said in a statement.
Sweet Country was produced by Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey and was written by David Tranter and Steven McGregor.
The deal was negotiated by Peter Goldwyn and by Emilie Georges of Memento on behalf of the filmmakers.
