Goldwyn Takes ‘The Whistleblower’

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the drama “The Whistleblower,” starring Rachel Weisz, and has set an August release.

“The Whistleblower”, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in September, is directed by first-time filmmaker Larysa Kondracki and also stars Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, David Strathairn, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas.

Voltage Pictures, selling the film at the American Film Market (AFM), has sold numerous major territories on the political drama, including Germany (SquareOne), France (Euro TV), Canada (eOne), Australia (Hopscotch) and Brazil (Imagem).

Weisz portrays a Nebraskan police officer who takes a job working as a UN peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and finds her expectations of helping to rebuild a devastated country dashed when she uncovers a disturbing sex-trafficking underworld and the dangerous reality of corruption, cover-up and intrigue connected to the UN.

“The Whistleblower” is produced by Christina Piovesan, Amy Kaufman and Mandalay Vision’s Celine Rattray, with executive producers by Nicolas Chartier and Sergei Bespalov and co-produced by Benito Mueller and Wolfgang Mueller. Eilis Kirwan co-wrote the screenplay with Kondracki.

Larysa Kondracki who was born in Toronto, studied English and Theatre at McGill University and received an MFA in Film Direction from Columbia University. (Report by Dave McNary for Variety)