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The Professor and The Madman
Australian Premiere

Based on the worldwide best-selling novel by Simon Winchester, and starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, this dramatic biopic is an extraordinary true tale of madness, genius, and obsession about two remarkable men who created history with the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Professor James Murray (Gibson) took on the daunting challenge of creating the most comprehensive dictionary ever developed, but predicted that it would take him and his team over a century to compile all known definitions. However, by “crowdsourcing” the work and enlisting definitions from people all over the world, the dictionary could be accomplished in mere decades. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor Murray, discovered that an American Civil War veteran, Dr. W.C. Minor (Penn), had submitted more than ten thousand words. But when the committee insisted on honouring him, a shocking truth came to light that no one could have ever predicted.

Also starring Natalie Dormer and Steve Coogan, The Professor and the Madman is a beautifully shot, sensationally acted tale.

Director
P.B. Shemran (aka Farhad Safinia)
Cast
Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, Steve Coogan, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Marsan
2019 | 124 min
Biopic, Drama
Ireland
M
Official Selection
Moscow International Film Festival 2019