The Venice International Film Festival announced their 2017 program confirming the selection of four Australian films, including Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country which will make its world premiere in official competition. West of Sunshine will also make its world premiere competing in the Orizzonti section and The Knife Salesman will screen in competition in Orizzonti – Short Films. In a first for an Australian film, Strange Colours will screen as part of the Biennale College.

Penny Smallacombe, Head of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department said it was a landmark moment in Australian screen history with Sweet Country being the first Australian Indigenous feature to be selected in official competition in Venice.

“Sweet Country is an outstanding Indigenous collaboration, from the incredibly talented writers Steven McGregor and David Tranter and the extraordinary vision of director Warwick Thornton. This is a vital and rich Indigenous perspective of how Aboriginal people have been treated historically and we’re proud the film will premiere at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals,” said Ms Smallacombe.

Warwick Thornton, who was awarded the Cannes Film Festival Caméra d’Or for his debut feature Samson and Delilah, returns to the director’s chair for Sweet Country, a period western set in the late 1920s on the Northern Territory frontier, where justice itself is put on trial. The film features an impressive cast including Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Hamilton Morris, Gibson John, Natassia Gorey-Furber, Thomas M. Wright, Ewen Leslie, Matt Day, Anni Finsterer and introducing Tremayne and Trevon Doolan.

Sweet Country is produced by David Jowsey (Mystery Road, Goldstone), Greer Simpkin (Goldstone, Jasper Jones) and David Tranter (Nganampa Anwernekenhe). The film received major production investment and development support from Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department in association with Create NSW, Screen Territory, South Australian Film Corporation and the Adelaide Film Festival. International sales are handled by Memento and the Australian release by Transmission Films.

Director Warwick Thornton said:  “That landscape around Alice Springs is sacred. The MacDonnell Ranges are always in my mind from growing up there with my family. So, Sweet Country is a film about the land and our family and what happened when the missionaries and pastoralists arrived.”

Producers Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey said: “We are deeply honoured that Sweet Country has been selected in official competition in Venice, and that it will have its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in October.”