Principal photography has begun on Slow West, a Western starring Michael Fassbender (Shame, 12 Years A Slave), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom, The Place Beyond The Pines) and Caren Pistorius (TVs Offspring and Paper Giants: Magazine Wars).
The film is the feature debut of John Maclean, BAFTA award-winning director of the short film Pitch Black Heist, which also starred Fassbender.
Set at the end of the 19th Century, Slow West follows the story of 17-year-old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as he journeys across the American Frontier in search of the woman he loves, accompanied by a mysterious traveller named Silas (Michael Fassbender).
Slow West is being produced by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films (Shame, Tracks), Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan of DMC Film (Pitch Black Heist) and Rachel Gardner of Rachel Gardner Films. The film was developed by Film4 and is co-financed by Film4, the British Film Institute, the New Zealand Film Commission and Fulcrum Media Finance. This is the second collaboration between Film4, the BFI and John Maclean following the BAFTA-winning Pitch Black Heist.
Set in Colorado and the Scottish highlands, Slow West is filming on location in New Zealand and Scotland.
Transmission Films will distribute the film locally in Australia and New Zealand, with international sales being handled by HanWay.
Other members of the creative team are: director of photography Robbie Ryan (Philomena, Pitch Black Heist), Academy Award-winning art director Kim Sinclair (Avatar, Man of Steel) is the production designer, costume designer is Kirsty Cameron (Whale Rider) and the make-up designer is Dannelle Satherley (The Hobbit).