Beneath Clouds

Colour, 35 mm
Australia, 2001, 85 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Relations between native Australians and settlers have been a recurring theme in Australian cinematography. In his feature debut, Aboriginal director Ivan Sen sets the theme going once again, this time in the form of a road movie. Blonde schoolgirl Lena lives by a busy highway in a small town in New South Wales. According to her looks no one would guess that her mother is Aboriginal. One day the girl takes the bus to Sydney to search out her white father. A young man named Vaughn escapes from the juvenile facility (where he has been serving a sentence for stealing a car) and heads off to see his ill mother. The two young people accidentally meet at a bus stop and decide to travel the road together, hitchhiking and on foot. Vaughan is Aboriginal; he hates whites because, in his view, they are constantly trying to prove their superiority; he also hates himself. For the first time Lena comes up against racism, and for the first time realizes her identity. In contrast, Vaughan discovers what it is like to take responsibility. This delicate story, employing a minimum of dialogue, relates an encounter between two very different young people over the course of 24 hours. Ivan Sen shot it according to the rules of the genre, with various episodes taken from the road, and emphasis on the changing image of the unique Australian landscape.

About the director

Ivan Sen (b. 1972, Nambour, Queensland), originally educated as a photographer, studied film at universities in Brisbane and Sydney. He is one of the first Aborigine filmmakers, writing his own scripts and cooperating on the music. His short documentaries and features have taken a few domestic awards, for example Vanish (1998), Tears (1998), Wind (1999), and the medium-length drama Dust (2000), on which he co-wrote and co-directed. His feature debut, Beneath Clouds (2001), was awarded for direction and cinematography by the Australian Film Institute, and for Best Directorial Debut and Best Talent Award (to actress Danielle Hall) at Berlin.