Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears, the feature film based on the international hit television series and best-selling murder mystery books, will have its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the US on January 4.
Following its world premiere at Palm Springs, one of the most influential film festivals in the US, Roadshow Films will release the film in Australia on February 27 and it will make its US Premiere in select theatres and on AMC Networks’ streaming service Acorn TV in March 2020.
Filmed on location in Melbourne, Australia, and in Morocco, Essie Davis (Lambs of God, True History of the Kelly Gang, Game of Thrones, The Babadook) returns in the eponymous lead role as the glamorous private detective, The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, whose exploits in 1920s Melbourne, Australia, lead her to murder, mystery and mayhem from London to British Palestine.
Essie is joined by her co-stars from the series including Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, Miriam Margolyes as Aunt Prudence and Ashleigh Cummings as her loyal companion Dorothy ‘Dot’ Collins. The international cast includes Britain’s Rupert Penry-Jones (Vita & Virginia, Spooks, Black Sails), Egyptian star Kal Naga (Vikings, The Last Post) and, returning to Australia, Daniel Lapaine (Muriel’s Wedding, Upright, Zero Dark City).
From a screenplay by Deb Cox, Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears is directed by Tony Tilse. who was the set-up director on the television series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Tony has built a formidable international reputation for work such as Serangoon Road and Grace (HBO Asia), Wolf Creek, multiple episodes of Ash vs Evil Dead for producer Sam Raimi and Chosen for Playmaker / China’s iQiyi.
The film is produced by Fiona Eagger, with Every Cloud’s Eagger and Cox also acting as executive producers. Lucy Maclaren is co-producer.
“We are absolutely thrilled to premiere Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears in Palm Springs and to have the film launched internationally at such a highly regarded event. Miss Fisher has a huge fan base in the US and they are clamouring to see her on the big screen as are her legions of Australian fans,” said Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox.
Don Klees, Vice President of Programming for the Acorn brands, said, “After first introducing U.S. audiences to the dynamic Miss Phryne Fisher, Acorn TV is thrilled for her highly anticipated return at one of the United States most prestigious film festivals. Australia continues to produce first-rate programs, and Acorn TV remains a leading destination for bringing them to U.S. audiences.”
Private investors and fans contributed more than $AUS1 million to the budget for Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears through an extraordinarily successful crowd funding campaign.
The film opens with the Hon. Miss Phryne Fisher rescuing Shirin Abbas, a young Bedouin woman, who has been thrown into jail in British Mandated Palestine, for making trouble at a time of colonial unrest. After a perilous escape from Jerusalem, she rejoins Shirin as a fellow guest in the home of Lord and Lady Lofthouse, for the London ‘season’ and she pledges to help her right a wrong and discover the truth about the Crypt of Tears - an ancient crypt rumoured to lie somewhere beneath the rolling sands of the Negev Desert.
Production credit: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is an Every Cloud Productions feature with principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria. Roadshow Films will distribute in Australia and New Zealand, and all3media will handle international sales.
Stay up to date with news about the film at www.missfisherthemovie.com
ABOUT AMC NETWORKS
Known for its groundbreaking and celebrated original content, AMC Networks is the company behind the award-winning brands AMC, BBC AMERICA, IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, and IFC Films. Its diverse line-up of popular and critically-acclaimed series and independent films include Killing Eve, Better Call Saul and The Walking Dead, which has been the #1 show on basic cable television for nine consecutive years, as well as Portlandia, Brockmire, Love After Lockup, and the films Boyhood, Death of Stalin, and many more. Its original series Mad Men and Breaking Bad are widely recognized as being among the most influential and acclaimed shows in the history of TV. The Company also operates AMC Studios, its production business; AMC Networks International, its international programming business; the subscription streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now; Acorn TV; and UMC (Urban Movie Channel); and Levity Entertainment Group, the Company’s production services and comedy venues business. For more information, visit http://www.amcnetworks.com.
Chad Campbell, Acorn TV, ccampbell@acorn.tv
