21 April, 2008
The inspiring true story of the Hawaiian princess who was forced to flee to Victorian England as the kingdom she was born to inherit was on the verge of civil war, stars Q’ORIANKA KILCHER (The New World) in the title role as Princess Ka‘iulani, alongside BARRY PEPPER (Flags of Our Fathers, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan), WILL PATTON (A Mighty Heart, Armageddon) and SHAUN EVANS (Being Julia, Cashback). MARC FORBY directs from his own screenplay.
Set against the dramatic island backdrop of Hawaii, the film is a breathtaking romance about an unlikely heroine and her unwavering fight to defend the independence of her people. In 1888 Hawaii was a kingdom on the verge of civil war and forced to flee to England in the reign of Queen Victoria, Princess Ka‘iulani quickly had to adapt to a new life. When she falls in love with the rebellious but sweet-natured Clive (Shaun Evans), her love is tested when news of the overthrow prompts her return to Hawaii to fight to save the monarchy.
The Hawaiian leg of the shoot included exclusive first-time access to shoot interiors of Honolulu’s ‘Iolani Palace, home to the Hawaiian monarchy. The top calibre filmmaking team on the project includes Award-winning cinematographer Gabriel Beristain (Street Kings, The Green Mile, The Night Watchman) and production designer Steven Lawrence (Casino Royale, Titanic).
Produced by the UK’s Matador Pictures and Hawaii-based Island Film Group, producers are Matador’s Nigel Thomas (The Wind That Shakes the Barley) and Lauri Apelian and IFG’s Ricardo Galindez and Roy Tjioe.
“PRINCESS KA‘IULANI” is financed by Future Films USA, LLC, Future Films Production Services in the UK and the UK regional screen agency Screen East.
ContentFilm International is handling worldwide sales on the project and first-time footage of the film will be screened to buyers at the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival in May 2008.
