Ivan Sen – May 13 2018

Ivan is an Indigenous Australian screenwriter, director and cinematographer, as well as an editor, composer and sound designer. He graduated from Inverell High School then undertook a degree in photography at Griffith University in Queensland. He holds a Bachelor Arts in Directing from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Throughout the late 1990s Ivan worked on numerous short films before making his feature film debut in 2002 with Beneath Clouds, drawing on his own background as the child of an Aboriginal mother and absent white father. 2009 saw the world premiere of Fire Talker, his documentary biopic about political activist, Aboriginal footballer, and statesman Charlie Perkins. Ivan’s other feature-length films include Dreamland and Goldstone, the sequel to Mystery Road, and he has written and produced a number of award-winning documentaries including Yellow Fella.

Mystery Road
121 minute film; 2013; Written & directed by Ivan Sen

Indigenous cowboy detective Jay Swan returns to his outback home town, to solve the murder of a teenage girl, whose body is found under the highway trucking route out of town. Alienated from both the white dominated police force and his own community, including his teenage daughter, who he discovers is connected with the murdered girl, Jay stands alone in his determination to fight back for his town and his people.

Toomelah
106 minute film; 2011; Written & directed by Ivan Sen
Daniel, a small ten year old boy, dreams of being a gangster. When kicked out of school, he befriends a local gang leader, until a rival gangster arrives back from gaol to reclaim his turf. A showdown ensues and Daniel is caught in the middle, leaving him with a choice to make about his uncertain future. Toomelah is a deeply personal story that intimately depicts mission life in contemporary Australia. The film reveals the challenges facing the young Gamilaroi people of the Toomelah Community, robbed of much of their traditional culture and struggling for an identity. It is a provocative and yet comic story that transports audiences inside the community, creating an authentic world and way of life that is ‘Toomelah’.