UPDATED: ”The Royal Hotel” was not announced as part of this morning’s Venice Film Festival lineup.
EARLIER: I already had my eye out for Kitty Green’s “The Royal Hotel,” but now it’s certainly got my attention. The first official photo of the film can be seen above.
Green’s latest was announced this morning as part of the upcoming TIFF lineup with a “Canadian Premiere” designation. This means that the film will be going to Toronto, Telluride and Venice — the only one movie confirmed to do all three fests, so far.
Last year, Neon snapped up the North American rights to “The Royal Hotel”. Green directed 2020’s “The Assistant,” a fascinatingly minimalist depiction of Harvey Weinstein’s junior assistant.
Garner again teams-up with Green for “The Royal Hotel,” which also stars Hugo Weaving and Jessica Henwick. It’s an Aussie-American distribution that will certainly make waves in the fall months to come.
Inspired by true events, “The Royal Hotel” follows best friends Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Henwick), backpackers in Australia who run out of money. Still looking for an adventure, they decide to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called “The Royal Hotel” in a remote Outback mining town.
Things start getting dicey when bar owner Billy (Weaving) and a host of locals start crossing the line with their jokes and behavior. Soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.
There is no release date set for “The Royal Hotel,” but if it manages to make a splash at the fall film festivals then it could certainly be in theaters before the year is done. Watch out for this one.