Paradise City Sales sealed its territorial deal with the release of the trailer for Warwick Thornton’s Berlin competition film Wolfram.
Previous buyers are spread across Europe and abroad, with air rights acquired by Benelux’s Cherry Pickers, Italy’s Unicorn, Greece’s Ama Films, MCF Megacom from all of the former Yugoslavia, Turkey’s Filmalti, and Anub. Dark Matter is responsible for the filmmaker’s home countries of Australia and New Zealand, with additional deals in the works.
Rooted in the same fictional universe as Thornton’s 2017 drama Sweet Country, which won awards at both the Venice and Toronto film festivals, the new film moves the action to the Wolfram Mines in central Australia in the 1930s. There, the arrival of two violent opportunists tears apart a vulnerable community, and three Aboriginal children embark on a journey across the outback to find a home. Thornton again shot the film himself, and McGregor and Tranter, who had written “Sweet Country,” returned to the screenplay.
“New Boy” and “Total Control” veteran Deborah Mailman leads the cast as Pansy, while Thomas M. Wright and Pedrea Jackson reprise their roles from “Sweet Country” and play Kennedy and the now 18-year-old Philomak. The ensemble also includes Errol Shand, Joe Bird, John Howard, Aidan du Keem, Ferdinand Hoang, Jason Chung, Matt Nable, Luca May Glynn-Cole, Ani Finsterer, Gibson John, and Natasia Gorey Farber.
The film will be produced by David Georgie and Greer Simpkin of Bunya Productions, who also produced Sweet Country, The Drover’s Wife, and Limbo, with Drew Bailey and David Tranter serving as co-producers. Cecilia Ritchie and Kurt Royen will serve as executive producers. Screen Australia will support the project in partnership with Screen Territory and National Indigenous Television, with additional supporters joining Screen NSW and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.
“Sweet Country” won prizes in Venice and Toronto, played more than 50 festivals and was sold in more than 70 territories. Thornton’s subsequent films include “New Boy,” which brought Cate Blanchett to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2023, and 2009’s “Samson and Delilah,” which won the Camera d’Or.
Paradise City’s current Berlinale productions also include Moshe Rosenthal’s Sundance World Dramatic Competition title Tell Me Everything, as well as Anthony Chen’s competition entry We Are All Strangers and Generation Special Award winner Mies Peinenburg’s A Family.
Watch the trailer here:
