Well Go USA has acquired all North American distribution rights to Monolith, the Australian sci-fi thriller starring Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, I Met a Girl, Picnic at Hanging Rock), and directed by Matt Vesely from a script by Lucy Campbell and produced by Black Cat White Rabbit Productions’ Bettina Hamilton. The film previously premiered internationally for SXSW’s Midnighters section after screening at Adelaide Film Festival in 2022.
Monolith is described as a “taut, contained mystery,” and centers on “a disgraced journalist attempts to salvage her career by turning to investigative podcasting. While trying to uncover the secrets behind a strange artifact with links to an alien conspiracy theory, the journalist soon finds that the story has moved uncomfortably close to home, leaving her to grapple with the lies at the heart of her own story.”
The first film to come out of the FilmLab: New Voices program, Monolith was filmed across three weeks in one location in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills and wrapped at the end of 2022; FilmLab: New Voices program is an initiative run by the South Australian Film Corporation and the Adelaide Film Festival, with support from Screen Australia, designed to develop and elevate first-time South Australian feature filmmakers.
“Monolith brilliantly leverages its breathtaking sole location to construct a captivating and immersive world that draws viewers in from the very beginning,” said Brennan Lane, director of acquisitions and production at Well Go USA. “Built on a foundation of masterful writing alongside visual and audio storytelling approaches that sustain suspense throughout, MONOLITH is a gripping, well-executed and original genre film.”
“We are delighted to be working with Well Go USA on bringing our sci-fi thriller Monolith to North American audiences. In Well Go we feel we have continued to find partners who really believe in the film, as XYZ Films did when they came onboard for sales. Monolith has had a great festival response from audiences and we can’t wait to share it further,“ said Hamilton.
The deal was brokered by Pip Ngo and Peter Van Steemburg of XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers and by Lane on behalf of Well Go USA. Blue Finch Films will continue international sales, with Bonsai Films handling Australian distribution.