Warwick Thornton has signed on to direct a feature telling the story of Australian Aboriginal resistance fighter Pemulwuy.
Led by an all-Indigenous core creative team, including writer Jon Bell and writer/producer Andrew Dillon, The First Warrior will centre on the Bidjigal man of the Sydney tribes and his efforts leading a 12-year resistance against British settlers moving into his people’s traditional lands as Australia was colonised in the late 1700s.
Sam Worthington and Jason Clarke are attached to feature in the cast, with a search underway to find Pemulwuy and also Bennelong, who Governor Arthur Phillip kidnapped to start a dialogue with Indigenous Australians.
Formerly Pemulwuy, the film is supported by the Bidjigal, Dharawal, and Dharug Elders, with Dillon, a direct descendent of both the Dharug and Gomeroi people, producing under his That’s-A-Wrap Productions banner, an Indigenous First Nations owned and operated production company. Screenwriter Stuart Beattie and Shana Levine have boarded the project as writer/producer and producer/executive producer, respectively, alongside executive producer Phillip Noyce.
Thornton, known for directing Samson & Delilah, Sweet Country and last year’s The New Boy, said he was “honoured” to be part of the project, describing it as an “important story with an awesome script and legendary actors”.
Dillon, who previously served as an investment manager and story development specialist at Screen Australia, said one of his lifelong goals was to have Indigenous warriors celebrated on the silver screen.
“I can’t wait for audiences to not only experience Warwick’s vision for this story but to leave the cinema with a newfound appreciation of Australia’s shared history,” he said.