Sydney Film Festival Premiere announced for MESSiAH the second feature in the 2016 Lexus Short Films series

Director Damian Walshe-Howling will enjoy a premiere on home ground for MESSiAH, his feature produced for this year’s Lexus Short Films series. The movie will be screened for the first time at the Sydney Film Festival on 14 June.

MESSiAH, inspired by the series’ theme of “Anticipation”, explores a playful culture clash that ensues when an Irishman and his Parisian girlfriend encounter a particularly mischievous stranger in the spectacular surroundings of the Australian wilderness. The cast includes the celebrated Australian actor David Gulpilil, whose credits include the 1971 classic Walkabout, The Tracker, Crocodile Dundee and Rabbit-Proof Fence, together with Stephen Hunter (The Hobbit).

Melbourne-born Walshe-Howling, who as an actor has appeared in a number of high-profile Australian television productions, will be attending the premiere to talk about his film and its inspiration as part of the third annual Lexus Short Films series. Representatives from Lexus and The Weinstein Company will also talk about how the series is supporting movie-making by new talents including Walshe-Howling and the other directors taking part in the project this year.

Harvey Weinstein, The Weinstein Company co-chairman, said, “We are thrilled to bring Damian’s new film to Sydney Film Festival and highlight the amazing cast that is featured in this production.”

David Nordstrom, Lexus International’s global branding department general manager, added, “We are so pleased to support these talented filmmakers and their capability and vision following the overall theme “Anticipation” have truly exceeded our expectations thus far.”

MESSiAH and the previously announced Friday Night will be screened with the two other films in the series in a joint premiere for all four productions at this year’s Napa Valley Film Festival in California in November. Prior to this, the individual movies will be showcased in special screenings and festivals around the world through the summer and autumn.

David Glasser, The Weinstein Company Chief Operating Officer and President, said “We are very happy to provide this opportunity for viewers to witness the films’ powerful messages and listen to the directors explain how they got to this point in their career and what exciting things lie ahead.”

Lexus Short Films 2016 - MESSiAH Trailer from ToyotaGB on Vimeo.

ABOUT LEXUS SHORT FILMS
In 2013, Lexus Short Films was launched with the goal of supporting and nurturing a new generation of emerging filmmakers. These aspiring directors and writers have received a unique opportunity supported by Lexus to collaborate with acclaimed film studio The Weinstein Company to produce and showcase their work on an international stage. Messiah and the three other winners in this year's Short Films competition were selected from thousands of submissions and their films are being shown in a tour of top film festivals around the world.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein. During Harvey and Bob’s tenure at Miramax and TWC, they have received 351 Oscar nominations and won 82 Academy Awards.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; SCRE4M; SPY KIDS: THE KING’S SPEECH; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; SCARY MOVIE 5; LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER; PHILOMENA; THE IMITATION GAME; PADDINGTON; WOMAN IN GOLD; SOUTHPAW, CAROL and THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Upcoming releases include SING STREET, THE FOUNDER, HANDS OF STONE, and LION.

TWC boasts an active television production division which garnered twelve Emmy nominations in 2015. TWC Television produces the reality powerhouse Project Runway, with its spin-off series Project Runway All Stars, hosted by Alyssa Milano, Project Runway Jr, featuring supermodel Hannah Davis and fashion critic Kelley Osbourne Under the Gunn, and Threads. Scripted series include John Fusco's Marco Polo with Netflix, going into its second season, and War & Peace, which debuted on Lifetime, A&E and HISTORY in 2016. Scripted projects in development include Ten Commandments, Daniel Stashower’s The Hour Of Peril and military drama Six. TWC will also launch several new projects in 2016 across several networks, including MTV, Lifetime, and AMC.