Limbo (Ivan Sen) Australia. Official Section |

Limbo
Ivan Sen
Australia. 2023. 104 min

Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case from the victim’s fractured family, the surviving witnesses and the reclusive brother of the chief suspect. A poignant, intimate journey into the complexities of loss and the impact of the justice system on Aboriginal families in Australia.

IVAN SEN

Throughout the late 1990s Ivan Sen worked on numerous short films, before making his feature film debut with Beneath Clouds in 2002. The film won Ivan global acclaim, screening in Competition at the 2002 Berlinale and winning a Silver Bear. Beneath Clouds also screened at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and earned Ivan the 2002 Best Director Award at the Australian Film Institute Awards.
Ivan has written and produced a number of award-winning documentaries. His documentary Yellow Fella screened in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.
In 2011 Ivan completed his feature Toomelah, which was selected for Un Certain Regard at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The world premiere of the film at Cannes received a standing ovation. The film won the Grand Prix at the Pacific Meridian Film Festival 2011 and the UNESCO Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2011.
In 2012 Ivan was awarded the prestigious Byron Kennedy Award, for “his unique artistic vision and for showing, by his resourceful, multidisciplinary filmmaking, that telling stories on screen is in reach of all who have something consequential to say”.

PRODUCER´S NOTE

Limbo is a return for Ivan to his previous body of work, set in the outback and dealing with First Nations stories, characters and themes. These stories reflect and explore his own Australian Aboriginal heritage.
Limbo is set in the South Australian outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy. The black and white photography captures the incredible landscape beautifully and delivers a rich and profound sense of place.
The characters who populate this film are hardened souls surviving in a harsh and unforgiving town. But finding each other changes them, reminds each of them of their human compassion and thereby alters their destiny.
The world of Limbo takes us into this harsh desert landscape, and also into a racist world. There we explore loss, grief and justice, how Aboriginal people are treated by the justice system, as well as the intergenerational impact of racism.

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