Samuel Goldwyn Lands ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ Drama Starring Mark Rylance, Robert Pattinson & Johnny Depp

Amanda N'Duka
·2 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to the Ciro Guerra-directed feature, Waiting for the Barbarians, which stars Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), newly minted Batman Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse), Gana Bayarsaikhan (Ex Machina), and Greta Scacchi (The Girl in the Fog). Originally slated for a theatrical release, the pic will now be available on digital platforms this August.

The drama is based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee, who also adapted the screenplay. It follows a Magistrate (Rylance) of an isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire who looks forward to an easy retirement until the arrival of Colonel Joll (Depp), whose task it is to report on the activities of the ‘barbarians’ and on the security situation on the border. Joll conducts a series of ruthless interrogations, which leads the Magistrate to question his loyalty to the empire.

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Michael Fitzgerald, Olga Segura, Andrea Iervolino of Iervolino Entertainment, and Monika Bacardi produced the pic with executive producers Sir Martin Franklin, Cristina Gallego, Danielle Maloni, Deborah Dobson Bach, and Penelope Glass.

“It has been a great honour to work with this wonderful cast and passionate crew in bringing J.M. Coet- zee’s masterpiece to the screen,” said Guerra. “It is a timeless story that speaks volumes to our world today, and we’re very happy and excited to be finally bringing it to audiences in the US through this partnership with Samuel Goldwyn Films.”

“Waiting for the Barbarians is filled with powerful and moving performances from Mark, Johnny, Robert, and Gana. The cinematography is beautiful and director Ciro Guerra creates a world that forces us to look deeper into ourselves and ask, “What would I do?”. Samuel Goldwyn Films is proud to bring this film to audiences,” commented Peter Goldwyn.

Meg Longo and Ben Feingold brokered the rights deal on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films with Julie Sultan of AMBI Media Group repping the filmmakers.

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