Richard Roxburgh plays Peter Greste in Correspondent film

Richard Roxburgh will play journalist Peter Greste, the award-winning foreign correspondent who, along with two of his colleagues, was arrested in Cairo in 2013 while working for Al Jazeera and charged with terrorism offences.

Production wraps today in Sydney on The Correspondent, a feature film directed by Kriv Stenders (Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, Red Dog) from a screenplay written by Peter Duncan (Rake, Operation Buffalo), based on Greste’s memoir ‘The First Casualty’.

Richard Roxburgh (Rake, Prosper, Elvis) features as Peter Greste, with Julian Maroun (Fighting Season) and Rahel Romahn (Shantaram) portraying Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, the two colleagues arrested alongside Greste.

Also featuring are Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black, Picnic at Hanging Rock), Nic Cassim (Mr Inbetween), Mojean Aria (Shayda), Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless), Majid Shokor (House of Gods), Josh McConville (Elvis) and Hazem Shammas (The Clearing).

The Correspondent is produced by Carmel Travers (OneFour: Against All Odds, Truth, Lies and Intelligence), a former foreign correspondent and the first woman Head of News and Current Affairs for an Australian television network, and a TV and feature film producer through her company, Pop Family Entertainment, (My Freaky Family, Alien TV, The Arvee Chronicles).

“The Correspondent is a story that resonates strongly with so many global events, and the amazing Australian cast led by Richard Roxburgh and featuring Julian Maroun, Rahel Romahn, Yael Stone and Mojean Aria have delivered powerful and very moving performances. We can’t wait to bring this directorial tour-de-force from Kriv Stenders to the big screen,” she said.

Grainne Brunsdon, Director of Content Screen Australia, said: “Screen Australia is proud to support Kriv Stenders, the creative team and brilliant cast, to bring such a vital story to screens across the globe. The Correspondent is an enlightening, passionate and courageous story – and we look forward to the film making an impact with audiences in Australia and beyond.”

Kyas Hepworth, Head of Screen NSW, said: “The Correspondent demonstrates the passion and incredible skills of the powerhouse creative team behind this compelling feature, including producer Carmel Travers, screenwriter Peter Duncan and director Kriv Stenders. It’s a testament to the power of the NSW film industry, including those living in Western Sydney and regional areas who had the opportunity to work on the film, and what we can create in this state.”

Christmas, 2013: Journalist Peter Greste accepts a last-minute assignment to cover a colleague’s post in Cairo during the Arab Spring. Days into his assignment, he is arrested and accused of terrorism – a pawn in a deadly game of ancient rivalries. Plunged into an inexplicable nightmare with only his wits keeping him alive, Greste’s survival means staring down a powerful regime to fight for freedom.

A Pop Family Entertainment production, with production funding from Screen Australia, in association with Screen NSW with support from Jovial Planet Productions, Spectrum Films, Dreamlight Studio and the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.