Kaleidoscope Film Distribution has acquired worldwide international sales rights, alongside U.K. and Ireland distribution, for Warchief, the upcoming film from BAFTA-winning director/writer/actor Stuart Brennan and Golden Globe-winning producer Gareth Wiley.
The previously unannounced feature is now filming in the English county of Suffol and will delivered by the end of 2022, with the first elements available for viewing at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
Warchief follows a band of guardians who escort a mysterious messenger to their king, unaware that they are being hunted by bloodthirsty orcs. Brennan writes, directs and stars in the feature along with Michael Lambourne (Cashback), Andrea Vasiliou (Wonder Woman), Suzanne Packer (BAFTA nominated, Casualty), Mark Wake (Kingslayer) and newcomer Rosanna Miles.
Cinematography veteran Doug Milsome, whose credits include Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, A Clockwork Orange and Stanley Kubrick titles such as The Shining, Barry Lyndon and Full Metal Jacket, serves as director of photography.
“This is a tremendously ambitious project that it’s great to have such a high profile, award-winning team working with me on. Kaleidoscope have had such success with our previous projects, we are excited to have them bringing our band of Orcs to the marketplace,” said Brennan.
Working with Woody Allen, Wiley won the best picture honor at the Golden Globes in 2009 for Vicky, Christina, Barcelona and was nominated for the same award for Match Point three years earlier. Brennan won best actor at the BAFTA Cymru Awards for his role in Risen and has multiple awards for his films, including The Necromancer and Plan Z, both of which he wrote, directed and starred in.
This is the second film teaming Kaleidoscope with Brennan and Wiley after Kingslayer, which releases in the U.K. in September.
“Following on from the great success we’ve had with Stuart and Gareth with Kingslayer at Berlin and Cannes, we are very excited to have come on board at the production stage on Warchief,” said Kaleidoscope Film Distribution CEO Spencer Pollard, who also serves as executive producer on Warchief. “It will be a highly commercial film that we cannot wait to introduce to buyers in Toronto and the upcoming MIPCOM and AFM markets also.”
Added Wiley: “Stuart Brennan is an exceptional and incredibly dynamic filmmaker and Warchief takes him to a whole new level. It’s a joy to be working with him again. Kaleidoscope have been great handling our first collaboration, Kingslayer, so we’re naturally delighted to have them onboard Warchief too.”