Three-time Emmy nominee Melanie Lynskey has been confirmed as starring in “Pike River,” the upcoming dramatic thriller set and shot in New Zealand and centered around one of the country’s worst disasters in modern history.

Signature Entertainment has unveiled a first look of Lynskey alongside co-star Robyn Malcolm, both of whom had been rumoured in the New Zealand press as the film’s lead cast. Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) also stars. Signature will launch international sales at the Cannes Film Market.

Directed by Robert Sarkies (“Out of the Blue”) from a script by Fiona Samuel (“Consent”), “Pike River” focuses on the true story of Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse, two women whose friendship empowered them to fight for justice after the Pike River Mine tragedy in 2010, which took the lives of 29 men underground. The feature is produced by Vicky Pope and Timothy White (“I Am Mother”).

“Pike River...