North Country - Press Archive - Toronto Film Festival Press Release

Source: Toronto International Film Festival
August 9, 2005

World Premiere of Niki Caro's North Country a Gala Presentation

Toronto – Niki Caro's NORTH COUNTRY receives its world premiere as a Gala

Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. NORTH COUNTRY

stars Academy Award©-winner Charlize Theron in an inspiring story of a single

mother who rallies her female coworkers to rise above the unfair treatment

they face at a local mining company. At once inspiring and heartwrenching,

NORTH COUNTRY also delivers commanding performances from fellow cast

members and Academy Award©-winners Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek,

along with Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan,

and Woody Harrelson.

In the wake of a failed marriage, Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) returns to her

hometown in Northern Minnesota hoping to build a better life for herself and

her two children. Encouraged by her friend Glory (Frances McDormand), one of

the few female miners in town, Josey takes a job at the mine.

She's prepared for the back-breaking and often dangerous work, but coping

with the harassment she and the other female miners encounter from their

male coworkers proves far more challenging.

Josey's attempts to carve out a better future for her family put her at odds

with her children, her disapproving parents (Sissy Spacek and Richard Jenkins),

and her community. Through this struggle she finds the courage to stand up

for what she believes in – even if that means standing alone. Ultimately, her

journey takes her farther than she could have ever imagined and inspires

countless others to follow.

NORTH COUNTRY is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Michael

Seitzman. Produced by Nick Wechsler, the film is distributed by Warner Bros.

Pictures.

Gala Presentations at Roy Thomson Hall are made possible through the

sponsorship of VIACOM, Paramount Pictures Canada Distribution Inc., and

Showtime Networks Inc.

[Toronto International Film Festival Dates: Sep 8-17, 2005]