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Signature Entertainment has acquired U.K. and Ireland rights to writer-director Warwick Thornton’s Australian drama “The New Boy” from The Veterans.

The film follows a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun, disturbing the delicately balanced world.

Debutant Aswan Reid leads the film in the titular role, alongside Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman (“Sapphires”) and Wayne Blair (“Rams”).

“Inspired by Thornton’s own experience of growing up as an Aboriginal boy in a Christian boarding school, this is ambitious, tonally tricky filmmaking, bringing an unexpected dose of whimsy to social interests more austerely explored in Thornton’s excellent previous features “Samson and Delilah” and “Sweet Country,” Variety critic Guy Lodge said in his review of the film.

“The New Boy”

The film is produced by Kath Shelper (“Samson & Delilah”) for Scarlett Pictures, Blanchett and Andrew Upton (“Stateless...

Aussie filmmaker Warwick Thornton joked that Cate Blanchett “elbowed” her way into his crafty sixth feature, The New Boy, as he introduced the pic at Deadline’s Cannes Studio shortly before its festival premiere.

In the pic, which debuted this week at Cannes, Blanchett plays Sister Eileen, a mysterious nun who runs an orphanage for lost boys; however, the role was originally written as a priest, to be played by a male actor, until the two-time Oscar winner came along.

“The character of sister Eileen wasn’t in the script at that time, but Cate coming along actually made it beautiful,” Thornton said.

Blanchett told Deadline that she initially reached out to Thornton during the pandemic and the pair began a virtual workshop to discuss opportunities they could create to work together.

“Like a lot of people during the pandemic, I thought well look, who do I really want to be a dialogue with?...

Here’s your first look at Cate Blanchett in The New Boy, the latest film from Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton.

The pic will debut in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, which will be Thornton’s second appearance at the fest, following 2009’s Samson & Delilah, for which he won the Caméra d’Or Award for first-time directors.

Set in 1940s Australia, The New Boy is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (Reid) who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery, run by a renegade nun (Blanchett), where his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films and Scarlett Pictures partnered to co-produce, with Roadshow Films distributing for Australia and New Zealand, CAA Media Finance and UTA handling sales for North America, and The Veterans on board to manage sales...

Advisors and guests include ’Succession’ writer Susan Soon He Stanton and ’Call My Agent!’ star Camille Cottin.

The Writers Lab, the development and marketplace programme devoted to script development for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40, is opening its first combined UK and European edition.

Julia Berg of UK production outfit Untamed Stories will again partner with the co-founders of The Writers Lab US, Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon, to launch a combined UK and European Lab this year. The US programme, produced with New York Women in Film and Television (Nywift), is supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Last...

Blanchett is among producers on the feature, which has been backed by Fremantle and Screen Australia’s First Nations department.

First Nations filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s anticipated new drama The New Boy has wrapped production in South Australia.

The feature has received major funding from Screen Australia’s First Nations department, alongside Fremantle and Gretel Packer’s Longbridge Nominees, who join producers Kath Shelper for Scarlett Pictures; and Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton, Georgie Pym and Coco Francini for Dirty Films.

Newcomer Aswan Reid has been cast as the lead, alongside Blanchett, The Sapphires star Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair, who directed The Sapphires.

Production wraps this week on “The New Boy,” a drama film by Australian Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton on which Cate Blanchett takes both a starring role and a producer credit.

Set in 1940s Australia, “The New Boy” is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (portrayed by newcomer Aswan Reid) who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery, run by a renegade nun (Blanchett). There his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in a story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

Other established names in the cast include Deborah Mailman (“The Sapphires”) and Wayne Blair. An ensemble of new faces including Shane Brady, Tyrique Brady, Laiken Woolmington, Kailem Miller, Kyle Miller, Tyzailin Roderick and Tyler Spencer round out the cast.

Thornton is one of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers. His “Samson And Delilah” won the Camera d’Or for best first film at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.