South Australian-shot thriller The Stranger dazzled audiences and critics alike at Cannes, receiving a standing ovation and rave reviews on its premiere as part of the festival’s Un Certain Regard program.

Directed and written by Thomas M Wright (Acute Misfortune), the film features Joel Edgerton (Loving, Boy Erased) and Sean Harris (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, The King) as two strangers who form a friendship. For Henry (Harris), worn down by a lifetime of physical labour, it’s a dream come true as his new friend Mark (Edgerton) becomes his saviour and ally. However neither is who they appear to be, each carrying secrets that threaten to ruin them – and in the background, one of Australia’s largest police operations is closing in.

Filmed around Adelaide, South Australia including at the SAFC’s Adelaide Studios production facilities, The Stranger has wowed international critics with Variety calling it “an eerie, understated thriller”, and Screen Daily labelling it “intense and unnerving” with an atmosphere “that brings to mind Peter Weir’s Picnic At Hanging Rock”.

Harris and Edgerton have been applauded as the two leads, with Deadline praising their “excellent” performances and Digital Journal declaring them “two of the most intense performances to grip the Cannes Film Festival”.

Writer/director Thomas M Wright has also been lauded, with The Australian naming him “one to watch” and IGN saying “Wright uses every tool in his arsenal to keep us on the edge of their seats, and it really works”

The Stranger is a See-Saw Films, Anonymous Content and Blue-Tongue Films production, and is proudly supported by the South Australian Film Corporation. The film is produced by Rachel Gardner, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Joel Edgerton, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Kim Hodgert.

Learn more about South Australia’s stunning locations – from salt lakes to moonscapes and dense green forests to rugged desert ranges, spectacular heritage buildings, dramatic coastlines and beaches galore.

Feature Image: Joel Edgerton as Mark in The Stranger ©See-Saw Films.