Lorcan Finnegan’s psychological thriller The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage, will have its world premiere at Cannes after being chosen as one of four films for the Midnight Screenings section.
Shot in Western Australia’s South West region over 10 weeks at the end of last year, the film features Cage as as a man who returns to Australia to buy back his family home after many years in the US only to be humiliated in front of his teenage son by a group of local surfers who claim ownership over the secluded beach of his childhood.
Wounded, he defies them and remains at the beach, demanding acceptance. As the conflict escalates he is brought to the edge of his sanity.
The Oscar winner is joined by an Australian cast that includes Julian McMahon, Nicholas Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Rahel Romahn, Finn Little, and Charlotte Maggi.
Thomas Martin wrote the script for the Australian/Irish Co-Production, which Tea Shop Productions is producing alongside Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia, Lovely Productions, and Gramercy Park Media. with support from Screenwest through the Western Australian Production Attraction Incentive. North.Five.Six (formerly Mossbank) is handling international sales.
The selection marks a return to Cannes for Finnigan, whose sophomore feature Vivarium premiered in Critics’ Week in 2019.
Connolly paid tribute to the director for making “an incredible work of cinema”.
“It is wonderful to receive such prestigious recognition for the work of so many talented creatives, cast and crew,” he told IF.
Other films in yesterday’s Iine-up announcement include Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, and David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds.
It was revealed last month that George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, will premiere Out of Competition with a gala screening.
The 77th Festival de Cannes will be held from May 14 to 25, 2024.
In Australia, The Surfer will release as a Stan Original Film, in partnership with CinemaPlus and Madman Entertainment, who will be releasing the film theatrically in Australia and New Zealand.