by FilmInk Staff
SAM WORTHINGTON (AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH), DAVID DUCHOVNY, and KE-XI WU (NINA WU, BLUE SUN PALACE) STAR IN CRIME THRILLER THE EXILES FROM AUTEUR FILMMAKER MIDI Z (NINA WU, THE ROAD TO MANDALAY)
- Midi Z’s English language feature debut commences principal photography in Taiwan this month
- Mister Smith Entertainment to launch international sales at EFM
Sam Worthington (Avatar, Under The Banner of Heaven), David Duchovny (Californication, The X-Files), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu, Blue Sun Palace, The Road To Mandalay) are starring in the crime thriller THE EXILES, the first English language feature from acclaimed filmmaker and international festival darling Midi Z (The Road To Mandalay, Nina Wu, Ice Poison). The film is co-written by Midi Z with frequent collaborator, screenwriter and lead actress Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu). The producers on the film are Anita Gou (The Farewell), Tom Heller (Foxcatcher), Claudia Tseng, and Midi Z, with Killer Films’ Christine Vachon (Materialists, Carol), Gabi Meyers (A Different Man) and Ke-Xi Wu executive producing.
Production is currently underway in Taipei with a top-line crew including four-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Edward Lachman (Carol, Maria), Cannes winner composer Lim Giong (Millennium Mambo, The Assassin, Nina Wu), and three-time Oscar nominated editor Hank Corwin (The Tree of Life, The Big Short).
Mister Smith Entertainment is onboard for international sales, launching at the upcoming EFM in Berlin in February. CAA represents US rights. The film is being made with support and financing from Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).
Inspired by true events, THE EXILES follows a desperate Westerner’s pursuit of greener pastures in Asia, where greed, rivalry and ego ultimately spiral into a shocking murder.
Director Midi Z commented: THE EXILES has been an exhilarating new experience for me as a filmmaker. It reflects the tumultuous world we’re in, and follows a character’s quest to begin a new life within it. I took inspiration from real crime incidents in Asia to weave together a tale of contradicting forces – love and exploitation, greed and fragility, darkness and hope. It’s my great privilege to create with this amazing team from Sam and David, to my longtime collaborator Ke-Xi, to Ed and Hank behind the camera, all of whom I’ve long admired, and to be able to bring this special production to my hometown of Taipei.”
Mister Smith’s SVP, International Sales & Acquisitions, Shane Kelly added: “An unrelenting crime thriller that grips from the first page, THE EXILES marks Midi Z’s first English-language feature and a confident expansion of his distinctive visual style onto the international stage. Anchored by an exceptional calibre of cast and creative collaborators behind the camera, the film unites auteur ambition with a muscular genre narrative.”
Sam Worthington is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, and Hansen Jacobson. David Duchovny is represented by Anonymous Content, CAA, and Nelson Davis. Ke-Xi Wu is represented by CAA, Julia Xu, and Feig Finkel LLP. Midi Z is represented by CAA. Hank Corwin is represented by CAA.
Sam Worthington is an acclaimed Australian actor whose career spans from epic blockbuster films like AVATAR, TERMINATOR: SALVATION and CLASH OF THE TITANS to award-winning independent films like SOMERSAULT, for which Worthington won an AFI Award for “Best Actor in a Leading Role.”
Best known for portraying “Jake Sully” in James Cameron’s Oscar-winning franchise AVATAR, Worthington can currently be seen reprising his lead role in the third installment, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. The film surpassed $1 billion at the box office within its first few weeks, following the precedent set by the previous two films, which remain the first and third highest-grossing films of all time.
Additional film credits include Oscar®-nominated HACKSAW RIDGE, RELAY, LIFT, HORIZON, THE KILLER (2024), FRACTURED, THE SHACK, EVEREST, CAKE, THE DEBT, LAST NIGHT, WRATH OF THE TITANS; and Australian films DIRTY DEEDS, GETTIN’ SQUARE, HART’S WAR, and THE GREAT RAID.
On the television side, Worthington received great notices for his nuanced lead performance in the limited series MANHUNT: UNABOMBER opposite Paul Bettany. Most recently, he starred in the FX limited series UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, executive produced by Dustin Lance Black, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Jason Bateman. The series went on to be nominated for a Critics Choice Award for “Best Limited Series.”
He can next be seen in David Mackenzie’s upcoming thriller FUZE, Netflix’s new Harlan Coben series I WILL FIND YOU, and Alejandro Monteverde’s feature ZERO A.D.
David Duchovny is an award-winning actor, writer, director, New York Times Best-Selling author, podcast host and singer-songwriter. With an acting career spanning over three decades, Duchovny is a two-time Golden Globe-winner and four-time Emmy nominee, known for his iconic roles as FBI Agent Fox Mulder in FOX’s THE X-FILES and Hank Moody in Showtime’s CALIFORNICATION.
Duchovny can currently be seen in Amazon Prime Video’s psychological thriller series, MALICE, alongside Jack Whitehall and Carice van Houten. The series follows a young man (Whitehall) who seeks to infiltrate the world of a wealthy family, with Duchovny playing the head of that family.
Upcoming, David will appear in the Duplass Brothers’ film, SEE YOU WHEN I SEE YOU, alongside Kumail Nanjiani, Kaitlyn Dever, Lucy Boynton, Cooper Raiff and Hope Davis. The film will premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Duchovny premiered his film REVERSE THE CURSE at the Tribeca Film Festival. He wrote, directed, and stars in the film adaptation of his novel, BUCKY F*CKING DENT. Set in New York during 1978, REVERSE THE CURSE follows Ted, who moved back in with his father after learning of his terminal illness. Indiewire praised the film for finding “fresh life in its nuanced central relationship, charming period details, and a stirring performance from Duchovny — while eliciting well-earned sobs from anyone who can’t help but feel romantic about baseball” and The Hollywood Reporter said the film “provides an excellent showcase for {Duchovny’s} particular brand of deadpan comedy as {a} cranky, wisecracking guy.” Vertical Entertainment released the film nationally on June 14 in theaters and digital.
In May 2024, Duchovny launched his Podcast, FAIL BETTER produced by Lemonada Media. The podcast explores failure in all its forms, from the professional to the personal, and the ways in which failure, shame and falling short, shape our lives. In the weekly series, Duchovny sits down with a guest and together they will interrogate the painful, shameful stings of life. Guests include Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, Sarah Silverman, physician and author Gabor Maté and “Freakonomics” author Stephen J. Dubner. The Podcast is such a success that Lemonada is launching an imprint with Simon & Schuster and FAIL BETTER will be the subject of one of their first two books to be published under this new partnership.
Duchovny is a prolific and New York Times best-selling author who recently released his seventh published work, ABOUT TIME, marking his poetry debut. It’s a deeply personal, existential and insightful debut poetry collection covering a range of intimate themes, particularly his relationship with his father. His most recent and fourth novel, Truly Like Lightning, was published February 2021. Truly Like Lightning is a heartbreaking meditation on family, religion, sex, greed, human nature, and the vanishing environment of an ancient desert. His previous novels include: the New York Times Best-Seller Holy Cow, Bucky F*cking Dent, and Miss Subways. Each of Duchovny’s books have been published by the venerable Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Duchovny also recently released his first Audible Original, The Reservoir, that he both wrote and performed. Set in Manhattan in the early days of the pandemic, The Reservoir is a brilliantly conceived, darkly funny caper of conspiracy and madness that probes the nature of “virality” in our age. The Reservoir was published as a novella by Akashic books alongside Duchovny’s chapbook Poems, Lyrics, Flip on June 7, 2022. Duchovny made his graphic novel debut with, Kepler, an allegorical thriller of environmental disaster, colonialism, religion, history, and adolescence told through the eyes of a lonely outsider, that Dark Horse Comics published on December 27, 2022. He recently released his first book of poetry, About Time: Poems. The collection explores themes of love, loss and memory, delving into profound human experiences with an insightful and humorous touch. As a musician, Duchovny has released three studio albums, Hell or Highwater (2015), Every Third Thought (2018), Gestureland (2021) and toured globally. In 2024, Duchovny wrapped his European tour which brought him to the UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria and Italy for his third studio album, Gestureland.
In 2024, Duchovny lent his voice to VESELKA: THE RAINBOW ON THE CORNER AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, in which he narrated the documentary about a Ukrainian restaurant in New York City that has mobilized to aid Ukraine following Russia’s brutal invasion.
Duchovny starred in numerous comedies with the most recent being Kenya Barris’ YOU PEOPLE opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill. Prior to that was THE ESTATE opposite Toni Collette and Anna Faris; Judd Apatow’s THE BUBBLE alongside Karen Gillan, Leslie Mann and Fred Armisen; and Amanda Peet’s THE CHAIR opposite Sandra Oh. Recent additional film work includes the prequel to Stephen King’s bestseller PET SEMETARY from director Lindsey Beer for Paramount; Meg Ryan’s directorial debut WHAT HAPPENS LATER in which he stars opposite Ryan;.
Duchovny grew up in New York City. He graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. He then went on to receive an ABD in English Literature from Yale University.
Ke-Xi Wu is an award-winning Taiwanese actress and screenwriter known for starring in Midi Z’s NINA WU, a fictional psychological thriller inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement. The film, which Ke-Xi Wu also wrote, premiered at Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews, with many critics singling out Ke-Xi’s superb performance. She won Excellent Screenplay Awards Taiwan, and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 56th Golden Horse Awards and the 22nd Taipei Film Awards. Ke-Xi was selected for Variety’s 2020 International Women’s Impact Report.
Ke-Xi also played leading roles in another three of Midi Z’s films: THE ROAD TO MANDALAY, ICE POISON, and POOR FOLK. For her performance in THE ROAD TO MANDALAY, Ke-Xi received Best Actress nominations at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards and the 58th Asia-Pacific Film Festival. Her performance in the critically-acclaimed ICE POISON won her a nomination for Best Actress at the Chinese Film Media Awards in 2015.
Additionally, Ke-Xi Wu starred in THE BOLD, THE CORRUPT, AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which won a Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film and Audience Choice Award at the 54th Golden Horse Film Festival in 2017. For her performance, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at Chinese Film Media Awards in 2018. She also portrayed the role of Mai Ling in Universal Picture’s REDEEMING LOVE alongside Nina Dobrev and Eric Dane. In 2024, she starred in French film BLACK TEA directed by Oscar-nominated African filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako. The film premiered in main competition at Berlin International Film Festival. Ke-Xi recently starred in Constance Tsang’s critically acclaimed feature directorial debut, BLUE SUN PALACE, which premiered at Cannes Film festival Critics’ Week and won the prestigious French Touch Jury Prize. For her performance, she received Best Actress Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2025.
Myanmar-born Taiwanese film director, Midi Z is one of the most acclaimed and boundary-pushing Asian auteurs of his generation. His 2014 film ICE POISON was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. His next film, THE ROAD TO MANDALAY, was awarded the Fedeora Award for Best Film at the 73rd Venice Film festival. His 2019 psychological drama NINA WU premiered in Un Certain Regard at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. Midi’s latest film THE UNSEEN SISTER was recently released in China and made USD$15M in box office in its opening week alone.
About Kindred Spirit
Kindred Spirit is an entertainment production company with roots in LA and Taiwan. Founded by producer Anita Gou, the mission is to curate boundary-pushing storytelling in film, television, and emerging media driven by visionary artists with global perspectives. Kindred Spirit’s recent films include Andrew Ahn’s modern remake of Ang Lee’s classic film, The Wedding Banquet, starring Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-Jung, which premiered at Sundance 2025 to rave reviews and was released theatrically by Bleecker Street. Gou previously produced one of the highest grossing independent films of 2019, The Farewell(starring Awkwafina), which was released by A24 and went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign-Language Film, and won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, as well as an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. Kindred Spirit was also a financier of the sold-out West End play The Picture of Dorian Gray, starring Sarah Snook, which went on to win multiple Olivier Awards and finished its Broadway run in June 2025. Other past works include After This Death (Berlinale 2025), Locust (Cannes Critics’ Week 2024), Close To You (TIFF 2023, Greenwich), The Last Year of Darkness (CPH:DOX 2023, MUBI), The Silent Twins (Cannes Un Certain Regard 2022, Focus Features), Together Together (Sundance 2021, Bleecker Street), Found (Netflix), We Are Little Zombies (Sundance 2019, Oscilloscope), Honey Boy (Sundance 2019, Amazon), Terminal 3 (Tribeca 2018), Assassination Nation (Sundance 2018, NEON) and To the Bone (Sundance 2017, Netflix).
About Catch and Release Films
Catch and Release Films is a film and television production company co-founded by Tom Heller. The company has built a reputation for producing unique, compelling and thought-provoking films with both established and up-and-coming filmmakers.
Heller has produced and executive produced a string of critically acclaimed and financially successful independent films over the last fifteen years including Academy Award-winning Precious, directed by Lee Daniels; Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, which was nominated for six Oscars; Humanitas Award-winning Win-Win, starring Paul Giamatti and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom McCarthy; Indie Spirit Award-winning Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon and directed by Jeff Nichols and Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl, starring Willem Dafoe, Patricia Arquette, Camila Morrone and Sean Penn.
Heller also executive produced Sony Pictures Classics’ Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, after first discovering the source material for the story and acquiring life rights to Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz. He brought the materials to director Bennett Miller, recognising the filmmaker’s affinity for true crime dramas and eccentric characters through his work on “Capote.” The film was nominated for five Oscars.
Heller previously was President of Rh Negative with producing partner/actress Regina Hall, ran financing and production company Everest Entertainment for seven years, and began his entertainment industry career at ICM and Miramax Films. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and has an MBA from Columbia University.
About Killer Films
Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler co-founded powerhouse Killer Films in 1995. Over three decades, they have produced more than 100 films, including some of the most celebrated and important American independent features: KIDS, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, HAPPINESS, BOYS DON’T CRY, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, FAR FROM HEAVEN, ONE HOUR PHOTO, STILL ALICE, CAROL, BEATRIZ AT DINNER, and DARK WATERS. In television, they executive-produced the Emmy and Golden Globe-awarded miniseries MILDRED PIERCE for HBO as well as the Emmy Award-winning limited series HALSTON for Netflix. Recent releases include Todd Haynes’ MAY DECEMBER (Netflix), starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, and Celine Song’s PAST LIVES (A24), which marks their first Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category, and her follow-up film MATERIALISTS (A24).
About Mister Smith Entertainment
Mister Smith Entertainment (MSE) is involved in the financing, co-financing, and licensing of high-quality mainstream feature films and filmmaker-driven movies for the global market. MSE’s current sales slate includes visionary animated family fantasy The Turning Door, written and directed by Nicholas Ashe Bateman and starring Alicia Vikander, Jamie Dornan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bill Nighy and Gillian Anderson; Fantastic Fest and Sitges selection Bone Lake, a psychosexual thriller/horror directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan; Christmas comedy Tinsel Town, directed by Chris Foggin and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson; magical realist drama The Accompanist, directed by Zach Woods and starring Susan Sarandon, Aubrey Plaza and Everly Carganilla; drama Everybody Digs Bill Evans, directed by Grant Gee and starring Anders Danielsen Lie, Bill Pullman, and Laurie Metcalf; action/spy thriller Blake & Mortimer: The Yellow M, directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and starring Corey Mylchreest and Phil Dunster; supernatural horror thriller Hide and Don’t Speak directed by Alexander J. Farrell and starring Tanner Buchanan, Garrett Wareing and Quvenzhané Wallis; and faith-based family epic In the Beginning, directed by David L. Cunningham.
Image: Sam Worthington photo by Beau Grealy
