Freestyle Digital Media has released its first trailer for Tomorrow, When the War Began, a speculative fiction tale about a future war in Australia based on a novel by John Marsden.
With the exception of Phoebe Tonkin, who you might recognize as Faye on the CW’s Secret Circle, the actors aren’t likely familiar to American audiences. Still, they do appear to have the talent, and I appreciate the fact that Hollywood didn’t decide to remake the film with a fully American cast when it was clearly becoming popular. If it hadn’t been in English, they likely would have.
The film was released in New Zealand in 2010 and had a very limited theatrical release in Europe and the US at that time with very little visibility. Since then, the film has seen much critical acclaim as it toured the indie film circuit, and so it will be receiving another limited US release later this month under a deal with Freestyle Media.
The official synopsis is thus:
Tomorrow When the War Began is a pulse-pounding action thriller that follows the journey of eight high school friends in an Australian coastal town whose lives are suddenly and violently upended by an invasion that no one saw coming. Caitlin Stasey stars as 17-year-old Ellie Linton, a precocious teen who leads her best friends including Corrie (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and Kevin (Lincoln Lewis) to an isolated, deep in the woods camp site named ‘Hell.’ Upon returning, they come to grips with the fact that their country has been overrun by a mysterious, invading army. When the hostile armed forces become alerted to the presence of the teenagers, Ellie and her friends, along with a new recruit (apathetic stoner Chris Lang, played by Andrew Ryan) – must band together to escape, outwit and strike back against the mysterious enemy that has seized control of the their town and imprisoned their friends and loved ones.
Tomorrow, When the War Began opens to limited release February 24, 2012. If successful, we may see a general theatrical release in a few months.
