Samuel Van Grinsven, a New Zealand-born, Sydney-based filmmaker is bringing his psychological thriller Went Up The Hill to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it will premiere alongside Rebel Wilson’s The Deb.
An Australia and New Zealand co-production, Went Up The Hill follows Jack (played by Stranger Things‘ Dacre Montgomery) who travels to remote New Zealand for his estranged birth mother’s funeral. There, he meets her grieving widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps). Things take a chilling turn when his mother’s ghost begins to inhabit both Jack and Jill, leading to a dangerous nocturnal dance among the trio.
Van Grinsven teamed up with Jory Anast to write the script, with Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton from Causeway Films producing alongside Vicky Pope from POP Film. The film wrapped up its shoot in New Zealand last October and received major production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission and Screen Australia. Additional support came from Screen CanterburyNZ, Fulcrum Media Finance, the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Rebate, and Head Gear Films.
Went Up The Hill marks Van Grinsven’s second feature, following his 2019 debut Sequin in a Blue Room, also co-written with Anast.
Read: Birdeater: Australian horror goes from Wake In Fright to Home and Away
The film will feature in the special presentations section at TIFF, running from 5-15 September. Producers Jennings, Ceyton and Pope expressed their excitement, and were quoted in IF Magazine as follows: ‘Samuel’s beautiful, unique vision will be shared with the world for the first time. Huge thanks to our investors, incredible cast, and wonderful crew.’
Rebel Wilson’s musical comedy The Deb will close the festival, despite ongoing legal disputes surrounding the film.
The gala section will see the debut of Ron Howard’s Queensland-shot survival thriller Eden, featuring Paul Gleeson, Richard Roxburgh, and Toby Wallace, along with Paul Schrader’s Oh Canada starring Australian actor Jacob Elordi.
Earlier this month, TIFF announced that Cate Blanchett would receive the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award at this year’s event.
Note: a previous version of this article did not attribute a quote from Up The Hill’s producers to IF Magazine. This was amended on 8 August 2024.
