Samuel Goldwyn to Release WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS Starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp & Robert Pattinson

Samuel Goldwyn Films announced today that the company has acquired North American rights to Ciro Guerra's feature film WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS. The film stars Academy Award Winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Academy Award Nominee Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Neverland), Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse and the up-coming Tenet), Gana Bayarsaikhan (Ex Machina),and Greta Scacchi (The Girl in the Fog). WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS was originally slated for a theatrical release, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be released on cable on-demand and digital platforms this August.

The Magistrate (Mark Rylance) of an isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire looks forward to an easy retirement until the arrival of Colonel Joll (Johnny 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.

WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS was directed by Ciro Guerra and written by Nobel Prize winning author J.M. Coetzee, who adapted the screenplay from his own novel. Two-time Academy Award winner Chris Menges was the cinematographer. The film was produced by Michael Fitzgerald, Olga Segura, Andrea Iervolino of Iervolino Entertainment, and Monika Bacardi 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. Coetzee's masterpiece to the screen. 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," says director Ciro Guerra.

"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," says Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

The deal was negotiated by Meg Longo and Ben Feingold on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films and Julie Sultan of AMBI Media Group on behalf of the filmmakers.

To post a comment, you must register and login.