By Brendan Swift
Shark thriller The Reef , which has been sold to 105 countries, will make its international debut at South Korea's Pusan Film Festival and Spain's Sitges Film Festival next month.
The Reef is writer/director Andrew Traucki's second feature and tells the story of a group of friends who capsize while sailing to Indonesia. They decide their best chance for survival is to swim for a nearby island only to find they are being stalked by a huge shark.
"Sharks are synonymous with this country and yet we¹ve never made a feature film about them – I thought it was time that changed," Traucki said.
The film stars Damian Walshe-Howling, Zoe Naylor, Gyton Grantley, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Adrienne Pickering. It will premiere later this year in Australia at both the Brisbane and Canberra film festivals before Pinnacle Films releases the film nationally in March 2011.
Producer Michael Robertson said Mexico has ordered more than 100 prints while the Philippines and Japanese markets are also keen to release the film theatrically.
“It’s about a shark and a shark means the same thing in Japan as it does in Australia – it’s something to be feared in the sea,” he said.
Crocodile thriller Black Water, which Traucki directed with David Nerlich in 2007, has recently become available for download on iTunes.
A scene from The Reef