Danis Goulet’s feature debut has secured distribution. Samuel Goldwyn Films snagged U.S. rights to “Night Raiders,” a dystopian sci-fi story about a Cree woman that made its world premiere at the Berlinale back in March. Deadline broke the news.
Set in 2043, “Night Raiders” explores “a future in which a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. In this world, where children are considered property of the regime which trains them to fight, a desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes and infiltrates a State children’s academy, so that she can get her daughter back,” the source summarizes. The pic is described as “a parable about the experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America.”
Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers toplines the film. The “Blood Quantum” actress is also a screenwriter and director. She helmed a documentary that’s currently screening at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary film festival. One of our most anticipated titles at the fest, “Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy” explores her Blackfoot community’s response to the opioid crisis. Along with Kathleen Hepburn, she wrote and directed 2019’s “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open,” a drama that screened at the Berlinale and Toronto International Film Festival. Tailfeathers and Violet Nelson starred in the story of a pregnant woman being abused by her partner.
Goulet’s shorts include “Waking,” “Barefoot,” and “Wapawekka.”
No word on a release date for “Night Raiders.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Samuel Goldwyn Films on the U.S. release of ‘Night Raiders’ following its premiere in Berlin,” said Goulet. “The film is so relevant to all of North America and we are so grateful to have this opportunity to bring it to U.S. audiences with a company that has a proven commitment to original voices and unique perspectives.”
Miles Fineburg, Samuel Goldwyn’s Director of Acquisitions and Theatrical Sales, added, “We’re incredibly excited to be working with Danis on her feature debut. Following in the footsteps of other great sci-fi films, she has done an incredible job of incorporating larger issues into this exciting and fulfilling story.”
