By Travis Johnson
Warwick Thornton’s period Western, Sweet Country, has been selected for Official Competition at the Venice Film Festival in September. The film will make its Australian debut at the Adelaide Film Festival in October.
Starring Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Thomas M. Wright, Natassia Gorey-Furber, Anni Finsterer, Matt Day, Hamilton Morris, Tremayne Doolan and Trevon Doolan, Sweet Country is set in the Northern Territory in the 1920s. the film tells the story of an Aboriginal stockman, Sam (Hamilton Morris), who kills white station owner Harry March (Ewen Leslie) in self-defence, and then flees with his wife, Lizzie (Natassia Gorey-Furber), pursued by Sergeant Fletcher (Bryan Brown), Aboriginal tracker Archie (Gibson John) and local landowners Fred Smith (Sam Neill) and Mick Kennedy (Thomas M. Wright).
Director Warwick Thornton said: “That landscape around Alice Springs is sacred. The MacDonnell Ranges are always in my mind from growing up there with my family. So, Sweet Country is a film about the land and our family and what happened when the missionaries and pastoralists arrived.”
Penny Smallacombe, Head of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department said “Sweet Country is an outstanding Indigenous collaboration, from the incredibly talented writers Steven McGregor and David Tranter and the extraordinary vision of director Warwick Thornton. This is a vital and rich Indigenous perspective of how Aboriginal people have been treated historically and we’re proud the film will premiere at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals,” said Ms Smallacombe.
