No studio wanted to touch Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram,” for fear of controversy, since this drama is about a very touch subject in Australian history.
Kurzel’s film debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won a best actor prize for Caleb Landry Jones. A hybrid release is planned both in theaters on March 30, 2022, and on AMC Plus, AMC Networks’ streaming service. The film is about the Australian mass killer involved in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, which led to scathing changes of gun control law in that country.
“Nitram” swept the 2021 Australian Academy Awards Tuesday night with a eight total wins, including best film, lead actor, director, lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, original screenplay, and editing.
I wrote on 08.26.21:
“Supposedly, “Nitram” has a distributor, but they're just not making it public yet (potentially due to blowback given how controversial subject matter is in Australia).”
Well, now that it’s won the big award in Australia, I suppose this was the best time to announce that the film had been picked up. I wasn’t a fan of Kurzel’s previous films, although they were very well-directed, but this film really blew me away when I saw it at Cannes. It already has its place on my ten best list for 2022.
