AFTRS is excited to have partnered with streaming platform ABC iView to deliver a newly restored version of Ivan Sen’s student film Warm Strangers (1997) as part of NAIDOC Week. Sen, a First Nations filmmaker, served as the short’s director, writer, producer and post-production supervisor as a part of his Bachelor of Arts: Directing degree in 1997. The short also recently screened in celebration of AFTRS 50th Anniversary as part of the 70th Sydney Film Festival, alongside other student short films from prominent AFTRS alum such as Jane Campion and Phillip Noyce. Warm Strangers sees an unknown man stumble through city streets attempting to reunite with his father, showcases Sen’s early work in tone, utilising harsh cinematography and an oppressive soundscape to create a desperate and ominous story world.
Graduating just before the turn of the millennium, Sen has gone on to be a defining force in shaping contemporary Australian storytelling through his work, primarily as a writer/director, as well as producer at Bunya Productions, which he co-founded with David Jowsey and fellow alum Greer Simpkin (Graduate Certificate in Business, 2010). The award-winning production house has produced all of Sen’s films for more than the past decade such as Toomelah, Mystery Road (both the film and show) and more recently his seventh feature film, 2023’s Limbo.
Premiering at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, Limbo, competed for the prestigious Golden Bear, the festival’s highest honour. The film, featuring an almost unrecognisable Simon Baker, follows a grizzled veteran detective as he investigates the 20-year-old unsolved murder of an Aboriginal woman. Sen, a well-documented multidisciplinary serves as the film’s director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor, colourist, visual effects supervisor as well as casting and music credits. The film saw its theatrical release in May and has garnered immense acclaim with praise for the film’s direction, visuals and performances. Limbo is still playing in theatres at Palace Cinema and The Golden Age. Watch the trailer for Limbo here.
Watch Warm Strangers on ABC iView now.
You can also experience more of Sen’s filmmaking history at the screening of his debut feature film Beneath Clouds on Tuesday, July 25 as part of the AFTRS 50th Anniversary Screening program. Join us in the AFTRS Theatre to watch this film – which won the Premiere First Movie Award at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival and the 2002 Best Director Award at the Australian Film Institute Awards – on a beautiful 35mm print thanks to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Secure your ticket here.
