40 Acres (film)
{{Short description|2024 film directed by R.T. Thorne}}
{{Infobox film
| image = 40 Acres film poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Poster
| director = R. T. Thorne
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- R. T. Thorne
- Glenn Taylor
}}
| producer = Jennifer Holness
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Danielle Deadwyler
- Kataem O'Connor
- Michael Greyeyes
- Milcania Diaz-Rojas
- Leenah Robinson
}}
| cinematography = Jeremy Benning
| editing = {{Plainlist|
- Dev Singh
- Sandy Pereira
}}
| music = Todor Kobakov
| production_companies = Hungry Eyes Film & Television
| distributor = Mongrel Media
| released = {{film date|2024|9|6|TIFF}}
| runtime = 108 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
40 Acres is a 2024 Canadian post-apocalyptic thriller film written and directed by R. T. Thorne (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Danielle Deadwyler as a matriarch of descendants of African American farmers who settled in 1875 in rural Canada after the first Civil War. Two hundred years later, they are trying to survive in a decimated future. It is set to be released by Mongrel Media in Canada.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/40-acres-director-r-t-thorne-survival-thriller-1235984385/|title=Toronto Hidden Gem: Survival Thriller ‘40 Acres’ Explores Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia From a Black Perspective|first=Etan|last=Vlessing|date=September 6, 2024|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=September 8, 2024|archive-date=December 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225052853/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/40-acres-director-r-t-thorne-survival-thriller-1235984385/|url-status=live}}
Cast
- Danielle Deadwyler as Hailey Freeman
- Kataem O'Connor as Emanuel Freeman
- Jaeda LeBlanc as Danis Freeman
- Michael Greyeyes as Galen
- Milcania Diaz-Rojas as Dawn
- Leenah Robinson as Raine
Production
The first news of project developing by R.T. Thorne was released during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://playbackonline.ca/2023/12/20/director-of-the-year-2023-r-t-thorne/|title=Director of the Year 2023: R.T. Thorne|website=Playback|date=December 20, 2023|author=Jessica Gedge|access-date=January 2, 2024|archive-date=November 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108204444/https://playbackonline.ca/2023/12/20/director-of-the-year-2023-r-t-thorne/|url-status=live}} On October 17, 2023, it was reported that Danielle Deadwyler would star in the independent post-apocalyptic film directed and written by R.T. Thorne.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/danielle-deadwyler-40-acres-indie-thriller-canada-1235575401/|title='40 Acres:' Production Starts In Canada On Indie Thriller Starring Danielle Deadwyler|first=Zac|last=Ntim|date=October 17, 2023|website=Deadline Hollywood}} Also was cast Kataem O'Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas and Leenah Robinson. The film was produced by Jennifer Holness with Hungry Eyes Film & Television.
Principal photography began in September, 2023 in Sudbury, Ontario and wrapped on October 26.{{Cite web|url=https://playbackonline.ca/2023/10/11/r-t-thornes-feature-debut-40-acres-underway-in-sudbury/|title=R.T. Thorne’s feature debut 40 Acres underway in Sudbury|author=Taimur Sikander Mirza|date=October 11, 2023|website=Playback|access-date=January 2, 2024|archive-date=February 22, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222161623/https://playbackonline.ca/2023/10/11/r-t-thornes-feature-debut-40-acres-underway-in-sudbury/|url-status=live}}
The film has faced allegations of unpaid invoices to crew, employees, and local vendors in the Sudbury area.{{Cite web |last=Welk |first=Brian |date=September 9, 2024 |title=IATSE Says Producers on TIFF Film ’40 Acres’ Owe ‘Significant Outstanding Payments’ to Crew |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/iatse-says-40-acres-producers-owe-significant-money-crew-1235045857/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2AEQOuK_d_JIzyWW7S1WCJSWp_EzBnZ0GjyODNNH_3qYp5I5PksXfAjXI_aem_InMv30i9_UXpkJWMtgmDWw |access-date=September 9, 2024 |website=IndieWire |archive-date=September 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910042717/https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/iatse-says-40-acres-producers-owe-significant-money-crew-1235045857/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2AEQOuK_d_JIzyWW7S1WCJSWp_EzBnZ0GjyODNNH_3qYp5I5PksXfAjXI_aem_InMv30i9_UXpkJWMtgmDWw |url-status=live }} As of October 2024, IATSE confirmed that all outstanding money owed to the film's crew had been paid, while producer Jennifer Holness was still working to pay the vendors.Kate Rutherford, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/40-acres-iatse-crew-amounts-paid-1.7350595 "Production company for TIFF film 40 Acres pays outstanding amounts to Sudbury crew, union says"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119121220/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/40-acres-iatse-crew-amounts-paid-1.7350595 |date=2025-01-19 }}. CBC News Sudbury, October 15, 2024.
Release
40 Acres had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Kay |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/toronto-world-premieres-to-include-nightbitch-elton-john-doc-the-wild-robot/5194619.article |title=Toronto film festival world premieres to include 'Nightbitch', Elton John doc, 'The Wild Robot' |website=Screen Daily |date=June 18, 2024 |access-date=August 19, 2024 |archive-date=September 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904193119/https://www.screendaily.com/news/toronto-world-premieres-to-include-nightbitch-elton-john-doc-the-wild-robot/5194619.article |url-status=live }}
The film was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2024.Carlos Diaz, [https://thatshelf.com/tiff-canadas-top-ten-2024/ "Canada’s Top Ten: TIFF Celebrates the Best in Cinema for 2024"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114183037/https://thatshelf.com/tiff-canadas-top-ten-2024/ |date=2025-01-14 }}. That Shelf, January 8, 2025.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|29634843}}
Category:2024 directorial debut films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:Canadian post-apocalyptic films
Category:Canadian thriller films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:English-language thriller films
Category:Films about cannibalism