Lee Tamahori’s The Convert, an Australian-New Zealand official co-production, will launch in cinemas next year.
The historical epic, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, stars Guy Pearce as Thomas Munro, a newly arrived preacher in a colonial town in early 19th-century New Zealand who finds himself at the centre of a long-standing battle between two Māori tribes.
The script was written by Shane Danielsen and Tamahori, after originating from a screen story by Michael Bennet. Producers include Robin Scholes and Te Kohe Tuhaka for Jump Film & Television and Andrew Mason and Troy Lum for Brouhaha Entertainment.
Kismet will distribute The Convert theatrically in Australia and New Zealand, with Mister Smith Entertainment handling international sales.