Interview by Paul Salfen
SYNOPSIS
Based on the short story “Winter Light” by acclaimed author James Lee Burke, GOD’S COUNTRY is a neo-Western thriller set in the snowy wilderness of the American West. Thandie Newton plays Sandra Guidry, a Black professor living and working in a rural college town. She discovers a mysterious red truck parked in her driveway and soon learns it belongs to a pair of local hunters seeking to enter the forest behind her house. Sandra turns them away politely but firmly – her experience tells her these are not the sort of men to welcome freely into her world. But they won’t take no for an answer, and soon Sandra finds herself drawn into an escalating battle of wills that puts her most deeply held values to the test.
About the Director – Julian Higgins
Julian Higgins is a Los Angeles-based director, writer, and producer. GOD’S COUNTRY is his feature film debut. Julian’s short films have screened around the globe and won dozens of prizes, including the gold medal Student Academy Award, two Student Emmy Awards, and the grand prize of Ron Howard’s “Project Imagination” Contest. His 2015 short film, WINTER LIGHT, also adapted from the James Lee Burke short story, was shortlisted for the Oscar. A New Hampshire native, Julian holds a BFA in Film from Emerson College and an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute. He currently teaches directing at both institutions.
