Mark Leonard Winter’s feature directorial debut The Rooster, nominated for four AACTA Awards, will get a cinema release February 22 via Bonsai Films.
The film follows small-town cop Dan (Phoenix Raei), who when the body of his oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, seeks answers from a volatile hermit (Hugo Weaving), who was the last person to see him. The cast also includes Rhys Mitchell, John Waters, Robert Menzies, Tom Stokes, Jane Montgomery Griffiths, and Deirdre Rubenstein.
The Rooster is produced by Geraldine Hakewill and MahVeen Shahraki for Thousand Mile Productions.
The film is nominated for the AACTA for Best Indie Film, Best Lead Actor for Raei, Best Supporting Actor for Weaving and Best Costume Design for Ellen Stanistreet.
Winter won Best Direction in a Debut Film at the Australian Directors’ Guild Awards last week.