Exit director Garth Davis’ feature film ‘Lion’ set for OZ release this Thurs; receives DGA nominations

Exit’s Garth Davis’ debut feature and DGA nominated ‘Lion’ is set for its Australian release tomorrow.

With an impressive start at the US box office and following its State Theatre premiere in Sydney on December 19, with the stars of the film Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, and David Wenham attending, Lion will be released on more than 250 screens across the country this Thursday.

Beautifully shot by Exit alumni Greig Fraser, Davis’ long-time friend and collaborator of 20 years, the story came to Davis via See Saw Films producers Ian Canning and Emile Sherman. While at Sundance festival promoting the Emmy-Award winning Top of the Lake, Sherman and Canning shared Saroo’s story with Davis after reading an article about him finding his birth mother.

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Gaining the rights to Saroo’s story, prior to the release of his book ‘A Long Way Home’, Davis and the team at Seesaw Films engaged with screenwriter Luke Davies to bring Saroo’s story to the screen.

The Australian film was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and also received BAFTA, The Critics Choice and SAG Award nominations. It has currently won more audience awards than any other film on this years awards circuit and last week also saw the announcement of Garth receiving 2 nominations for the prestigious DGA awards. The much anticipated Academy Award nominations will be announced January 24th.

Australian film historically has always been on the world stage and with such an impressive opening in the US, it’s exciting to see that ‘Lion’ supports the notion of Australia continually producing some of the worlds best when it comes to film making.