It is not super uncommon for film festivals flicks to be purchased by big money studios, but whenever those films are purchased, the indie film industry is celebrated. Woman Walks Ahead is one of a solid amount of films that were released during the Toronto International Film Festival, and it has officially been purchased by A24 and DirecTV for distribution in national theaters, according to Deadline.
Woman Walks Ahead follows the true story of Catherine Weldon (some believe her real name was Caroline Weldon), an artist during the 1880’s who travelled to the Dakotas to meet and paint Chief Sitting Bull. Their powerful friendship would lead them to combat the United States government in an attempt to secure more rights for Native Americans. According to the writers and directors, the crew almost constantly discussed with the tribe of Sitting Bull to keep the film as historically accurate as possible.
Weldon is being played by Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game, The Martian) with a solid supporting cast including Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Green Mile), Michael Greyeyes (The New World, Smoke Signals), Michael Nouri (Flashdance, The Proposal), and Bill Camp (Midnight Special, Gold). The film is being directed by Susanna White (Nanny McPhee Returns, Our Kind of Traitor) with a script by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Locke). The film is set to release sometime next year.