New footage from IFC’s next neo-Western thriller, God’s Country, starring Thandiwe Newton, has been revealed. As a college lecturer, Newton plays Sandra, who is startled when she sees a red vehicle pull into her driveway. Local hunters are trying to get into the woods behind her house, and this vehicle belongs to them. There is a reason why they keep coming back and threatening her: they are the sort of people you don’t mess with! As the tension mounts, we witness Sandra get engaged in a power struggle because no one steps in to save her. As they attempt to trespass on his land, two hunters, inspired by the renowned short novel Winter Light by author James Lee Burke, launch an attack on them. However, things quickly spiral out of control, and the professor’s life is put at risk.
The film is directed by Julian Higgins, an LA-based writer/director who previously turned Winter Light into a short film with the same name that was nominated for an Oscar in 2015. IFC took up the Newton-starring film earlier this year. God’s Country has been a labour of passion for the whole team, and I am sincerely delighted that we’ve found the ideal home.” Arianna Bocco, the president of IFC Films, said:
A modern-day lady battling with bereavement and solitude inside the limitations of a conventional western turned on its head is brilliantly shown by Thandiwe Newton. The director, Julian Higgins, has created a suspenseful film that is likely to hold the attention of moviegoers. The cast also includes Jeremy Bobb, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Kai Lennox, and Tanaya Beatty, in addition to Newton and the aforementioned actors. Higgins and Shaye Ogbonna collaborated on the script.
Producers Miranda Bailey, Higgins and Amanda Marshall are joined by executive producers Jason Beck and Anthony Ciardelli, as well as Halee Bernard and Higgins. The film God’s Country will be released in theatres on the 29th of July.
Synopsis
“Winter Light” by James Lee Burke is the inspiration for this neo-Western thriller set in the American West’s cold wilderness. It is Thandiwe Newton who portrays Sandra Guidry, a Black college professor who works and lives in a small town in the Midwest. Unknown hunters park an unidentified red truck in her driveway, and it turns out they’re on their way into the woods behind her house. The guys are respectfully rejected by Sandra, who knows from experience that these are not the kinds of men she should open her home and heart to. After rejecting Sandra’s pleas, they refuse to back down, and she quickly finds herself caught in an increasingly tense war of wills.