Kiwi feature film The Turn of the Screw sells out at Shanghai International Film Festival in under an hour

The Turn of the Screw, a film adaptation of the classic Henry James ghost story, adapted by and directed by Alex Galvin will have its World Premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival this Saturday, followed by two further screenings. The Turn of the Screw is the only New Zealand film screening at Shanghai this year. Tickets for its three screenings sold out in less than an hour.

Director Alex Galvin says, “Being selected for the second time for Shanghai is a real honour and it’s the perfect setting for our World Premiere. That all our screenings sold out so fast is particularly exciting, and hopefully a good indicator for how the film will do everywhere!”

The Shanghai screening will predate The Turn of the Screw’s New Zealand Premiere by just a few days, with the New Zealand Premiere screening at the Embassy Cinema Wellington on Thursday 6 August at 7.00 pm.

Tickets for this screening are on sale now through Eventbrite at NZ Premiere

The film will also have its Auckland Premiere on Wednesday 12 August at Event Cinemas Westfield Newmarket at Auckland Premiere

This film adaptation of Henry James’ Victorian ghost story changes the location to present-day Wellington. Set in Wellington’s Opera House, Julia finds herself as a last-minute replacement for another actress at the dress rehearsal of a stage play version of The Turn of the Screw, set in 1890.

Arriving at the theatre late that night, Julia is immediately thrown on stage and into her role, playing to an empty auditorium. As she interacts with the other characters and the story becomes increasingly terrifying, she begins to believe that not only is the fictitious house haunted… but also the theatre itself!

The film was shot in Wellington and stars top New Zealand female actors Greer Phillips and Jane Waddell (Send a Gorilla, Separation City), as well as Ben Familton (What We Do In The Shadows) and Ralph Johnson (Eternity & Chronesthesia).

The Turn of the Screw is Alex Galvin’s third feature film. His last film Eternity screened at ten international festivals including Cannes Cinephiles, Boston Film Festival, Lucerne Festival, and the Madrid International Film Festival, winning several awards.

 Eternity was particularly successful in China, being chosen to have its Asia Premiere at the Shanghai Film Festival, then screened at the NZ Film Festival in China before going on to be a finalist for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 China Golden Roosters (the Chinese Oscars) in Lanzhou, China.

This film is Produced by SDGNZ member Ed Sampson and Nicola Peeperkoorn (The Chills, Six60: Till the Lights Go Out) and Emma Beale, both members of Women in Film and Television Inc (WIFT).

See also: www.turnofthescrewfilm.com and https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/turn-of-the-screw-2020

ENDS