Dr Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is content with life and comes at the world with a healthy scepticism. Despite this she encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

This is a problem because she is a scholar of narrative and knows all the cautionary tales about wishes gone wrong. He pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.

Oscar-winning filmmaker George Miller first encountered Alithea and the Djinn when he read British author A.S. Byatt’s 1994 short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye in the late 1990s.

“It’s a story that seemed to probe many of the mysteries and paradoxes of life, and so succinctly” Miller recalls. “Once read it stayed with me, as some stories tend to do… then, one day it occurred to me that it should be a film.”

“It felt unique, something that you couldn’t quite fit into any genre and it ticked one very important box - there must be a whole lot more to it than meets the eye. There are stories within stories, a little like One Thousand and One Nights” says Miller.

Idris Elba: “It is an absolute postcard to the art of storytelling. It’s an unconventional film but has a very honest focus. The point is that stories are really important to humankind”.    

Prorom and Ro Image will release Three Thousand Years of Longing in Romanian cinemas on September, 2, 2022.

Based on the short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt, the film revolves around the encounter in a hotel room in Istanbul between a scholar (Tilda Swinton) and a djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

Their conversation leads to consequences neither would have expected.

Directed by George Miller (the Mad Max series), the fantasy-romance drama is released in the US on August 31st.

In Romania the movie will be released on September 2, 2022, distributed by Prorom and Ro Image 2000.

Two images were released with the announcement, you can view it here.

Here's the official synopsis:

Dr Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is content with life and comes at the world with a healthy scepticism. Despite this she encounters a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

This is a problem because she is a scholar of narrative and knows all the cautionary tales about wishes gone wrong. He pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.

The Cannes International Film Festival will take place from 17 to 28 May 2022.

Miller wrote the script and is producing with Doug Mitchell.

Miller: “This film has been simmering in the back of my mind for some time. If we can pull it off, I believe we have the makings of something unusually tasty.”

Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group Chairman and Pamela Abdy, MGM Film Group President: “We are thrilled to be working with George and Doug on their next film, and are especially excited to be a part of the sweeping and timeless world that George has created. This uniquely original film, by one of the world’s greatest storytellers, will be something truly special for moviegoing audiences.”

The movie is expected to shoot in Australia, London and Istanbul. The film will be released in the U.S. via MGM’s joint distribution/marketing entity United Artists Releasing.

Prorom will distribute Three Thousand Years Of Longing in the following territories: Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia next year.

Source: Deadline.