This year’s Toronto International Film Festival is unspooling two Canadian HD-shot feature films, including the new Peter Greenaway film Nightwatching, coproduced by Christine Haebler through Vancouver’s No Equal Entertainment.

Written and directed by avant garde filmmaker Greenaway (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover), Nightwatching is based on the underlying murder mystery surrounding one of Rembrandt’s most celebrated works, Night Watch, painted in 1642, when the master artist witnessed a murder and painted the scene, like a witness might describe it.

This Canada/U.K./Poland/Netherlands coproduction landed Dutch cinematographer Reinier van Brummelen, who specifically wanted the Viper to shoot this dark tale of conspiracy and lust.

‘With the elaborate costumes and intricate set decoration required to recreate that time period, it’s clear why the producers chose to shoot in high-definition,’ says John DeBoer, head of HD sales at Sim Video.

Nightwatching was shot over seven weeks on location in Poland and Wales using a camera package that included the Viper and a combination of Fujinon and Angenieux zoom lenses.

The world premiere of Nightwatching will unspool at the Venice Film Festival in competition in the Official Selection. Its North American premiere is in Toronto as a Special Presentation in the Master Series.

Nightwatching is being released in Canada by Odeon Films and ContentFilm International has international sales. Larry Sugar from No Equal serves as one of the executive producers; and Kim Arnott is associate producer.