The Hunter

The Hunter is a thriller-adventure film, directed by Daniel Nettheim and produced by Vincent Sheehan. The film is based on the 1999 novel by Julia Leigh. It stars Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill and Frances O'Connor. To prepare for the role, Dafoe worked with a bush survival expert who taught him practical tips like how to de-scent himself so animals couldn't smell him in the bush. Dafoe flew to Hobart, Tasmania for the premiere of the film at the State Cinema.

A hunter is hired by a biotech company to go to Tasmania and follow up on two sightings of the Tasmanian Tiger. His orders are to recover tissue and organ samples and to report back once he has them, as the company is convinced the reports are reliable. He befriends the children of the woman he is lodging with, and helps reduce her dependency on medication - caused by her partner having been lost some eight months earlier in the same region that the hunter is searching. During his search he becomes embroiled in the conflict between loggers and 'greenies', people protesting against the logging.