Cate Blanchett Is a Nun with a Secret in ‘The New Boy’ — Cannes First Look

Cate Blanchett is donning a habit in her next role post-“TÁR.”

The Academy Award-winning actress leads Warwick Thornton’s latest film “The New Boy,” which is set to debut at 2023 Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section.

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Per the official synopsis, set in 1940s Australia, “The New Boy” is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (Aswan Reid) who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery, run by a renegade nun (Blanchett), where his presence disturbs the delicately balanced world in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.

Mezi Atwood, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and Kenneth Radley also star.

Blanchett’s Dirty Films and Scarlett Pictures partnered to co-produce “The New Boy,” with Roadshow Films distributing for Australia and New Zealand, and CAA Media Finance and UTA handling sales for North America. The Veterans on board to manage the rest of international sales.

“The New Boy” was filmed in South Australia, with production funding from Screen Australia’s First Nations Department, which focuses on the lives of the country’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Writer-director Thornton marks his second Cannes appearance with “The New Boy” after 2009 film “Samson & Delilah,” which won the Caméra d’Or Award for first-time directors. He additionally helmed “Sweet Country,” which earned the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. Both “Sweet Country” and “Samson & Delilah” won the AACTA Award for Best Film from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

“Warwick Thornton is one of Australia’s most celebrated filmmakers and his return to Cannes for Un Certain Regard with his extraordinary film is incredibly exciting,” Joel Pearlman, CEO of Roadshow Films, said in a press statement. “This unique Australian film will captivate audiences globally, and Roadshow Films is very proud to be releasing the film to Australian audiences.”

“The New Boy” marks Blanchett’s first film since her Oscar-nominated turn in Todd Field’s “TÁR.” Blanchett is next set to star in Eli Roth’s “Borderlands” based on the videogame franchise of the same name. Blanchett is also linked to limited series “Disclaimer” about a TV documentary journalist, written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón from Renée Knight’s 2015 novel. Sacha Baron Cohen, Lesley Manville, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Hoyeon are confirmed to co-star.

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