IFC Midnight announced from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival that the company Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel’s psychological thriller SNOWTOWN in the U.S.. The directorial debut for Kurzel, with a screenplay by Shaun Grant, stars Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall, and Louise Harris.  Arriving with much buzz after winning the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival, the film was just awarded a special citation last night by the Critics’ Week jury. The film is also in competition for the Camera d’Or.

Based on a true story, SNOWTOWN follows sixteen-year-old Jamie (Pittaway) who begins a friendship with a charismatic older man (Henshall).  As the relationship grows, so do Jamie’s suspicions, until he finds his world threatened by both his loyalty for, and fear of, his newfound father-figure.  The older man Jamie befriended was John Bunting, Australia’s most notorious serial killer.