A true story of the life of British explorer and adventurer, Gertrude Bell, QUEEN OF THE DESERT chronicles her journeys of love and loss in the Middle East during the early 20th century. Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (THE PAPERBOY, RABBIT HOLE, AUSTRALIA, THE HOURS) stars alongside Academy Award nominated James Franco (SPRING BREAKERS, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, 127 HOURS), Golden Globe & Emmy Award winner Damian Lewis (“Homeland”, KEANE, “Band of Brothers”), and Robert Pattinson (THE ROVER, MAPS TO THE STARS, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS) . A curious and adventurous young woman eager to explore the world outside of England, Gertrude Bell (Kidman) goes to the British embassy in Tehran where she quickly falls in love with a secretary of the embassy, Henry Cadogan (Franco). This sparks the beginning of a life-long adventure among the beautiful but misunderstood peoples and cultures of the Middle East. Along the way, her path intersects with archaeologist T.E. Lawrence (Pattinson) also known as Lawrence of Arabia, and Major Charles Doughty-Wylie (Lewis), the British Consul General in the Ottoman Empire. QUEEN OF THE DESERT is written and directed by Werner Herzog. The film is produced by Michael Benaroya (LAWLESS, THE WORDS, MARGIN CALL), Cassian Elwes (ALL IS LOST, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, BLUE VALENTINE), and Nick Raslan (HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA, RESCUE DAWN). The creative team includes long-time collaborator of Herzog director of photography Peter Zeitlinger (BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS, ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS) and composer Klaus Badelt (HALO: NIGHTFALL, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, CONSTANTINE, GLADIATOR). The story of QUEEN OF THE DESERT is based on the true-life story of Gertrude Bell, who was a British political officer and archaeologist but ultimately a trailblazer on her terms. The story details the extraordinary adventures of Bell wrestling with the conflicts of love and tragedy, enemy and friend, foreign and familiar as she sought to understand and unify people from different cultures.
