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Godzone, New Zealand - the land of milk and honey, Middle Earth and killer sheep...?
New Zealand is set to gain a new reputation when international audiences flock to see the country's latest cinematic offering, Jonathan King's Black Sheep.
The New Zealand Film Commission have signed two major distribution deals for the film, which will see the comedy horror play to cinemas throughout America and Germany.
New Zealand Film Head of Sales and Marketing Kathleen Drumm, speaking to nzherald.co.nz from America, said: "There's no doubt about it, Black Sheep is one of the hottest titles in the market place."
The American distribution deal with IFC Entertainment and The Weinstein Company is a major coup for the low-budget film, which stars local actors Oliver Driver and Peter Feeney.
"There are thousands and thousands of films in the market place and the most elusive, difficult deal to make is North America, so this is really significant," said Drumm.
Drumm said she was unsure of how many films the company generally purchased in a year, but suspected it was no more than 10.
"It's fantastic... IFC and the Weinsteins are basically saying 'this is one of the very few films that we're going to buy internationally'."
The story of a science experiment gone wrong, Black Sheep is set on a sprawling New Zealand sheep station and features gory visual effects by Lord of the Rings' collaborators, Weta.
Complete with the tag line, "There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand... And they're pissed off!" Black Sheep sparked international interest after its debut at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
Set to hit New Zealand cinemas around March next year, the film should attract strong local audiences, said Drumm.
"New Zealanders will turn out in their droves to see this one. It's a little film with big ambitions.
"It's not full on, crazy, over-the-top digital effects with a big, fancy budget. It's a very simple premise but extremely well-executed with wonderfully-realised creature effects."
The film will also screen in Britain, Australia, France, Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands, next year.
