The Sundowner exclusive! A first look at brand new stills and teaser poster for the gritty outback fable

A new teaser poster has been released for The Sundowner.

Cinema Australia readers have been treated to an exclusive first-look at brand new stills and a fresh teaser poster for The Sundowner, the new independent feature from acclaimed director Matthew Holmes (The Legend of Ben Hall, Fear Below, The Cost).

South Australian actor Joshua Jaeger (Twin Rivers, The Legend of Ben Hall) portrays the titular character – a war-scarred swagman who gradually becomes a desperate and dangerous fugitive. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, the film will plunge audiences into the harsh outback landscapes of 1934, where survival is uncertain and justice is a myth.

The cast features an impressive ensemble of established and emerging talent including Arthur Angel (Red Dog), Jacob Junior Nayinggul (Fear Below), Monika Lapka (Caliburn), Nick Launchbury (Going South), Damon Hunter (The Cost), Freya Tingley (Time Addicts), Adam Willson (The Legend of Ben Hall), Brendan Cooney (With the Pines), Terry Rogers (Escape from Pretoria) and Darren Holmes (Twin Rivers), alongside rising local talents Will Hodgson, Connor Pullinger, and Nicholas Champion.

Written by Matthew Holmes and Aidan Phelan, The Sundowner is being produced by Two Tone Pictures in collaboration with Producers Felipe Teplitsky of GrandLine Motion Pictures and Russell Cunningham of RLC Motion Picture Entertainment, along with EP Joshua Little of Iconic Road Productions. The Sundowner is currently being shot on location across regional South Australia including Bower, Rockleigh, Yalpara, Burra, Black Rock and the Old Tailem Town Historical Village, making use of the breathtaking terrain and historic buildings South Australia has on offer.

Behind the lens is frequent collaborator and award-winning cinematographer Peter Szilveszter, reuniting with Holmes for a third time after The Legend of Ben Hall (now available on Stan) and the underwater thriller Fear Below which releases July 2nd in Australia.

“The Sundowner will be a brooding and atmospheric film that blends elements of the Western, crime noir and survival drama elements into a distinctly Australian fable,” says Holmes.

“As one of Australia’s most enduring archetypes, the swagman represents the resilient Aussie battler, the lone outsider. I wanted to explore the darker, more complex underside to this archetype, giving audiences an unflinching journey into the soul of a man broken by the trauma of war, the shame of poverty and pushed to an inevitable reckoning by societal injustice.”

The Sundowner is slated for release in late 2026

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