“Limbo”, the latest feature film by Ivan Sen starring Simon Baker, is now in production.
The Bunya Productions film also stars Rob Collins (“The Drover’s Wife: The Ledend of Milly Johnson), Natasha Wanganeen (“Rabbit Proof Fence”) and Nicholas Hope (“Bad Boy Bubby”).
“Limbo” is the seventh feature by Sen, following his 2022 sci-fi film “Loveland” and celebrated outback mysteries “Goldstone” and “Mystery Road”.
Filming is currently taking place in South Australia’s Coober Pedy, however the production is supported by Screen Queensland’s Screen Finance program – a dedicated funding stream for Queensland-based film and TV creatives. Sen is based on the Gold Coast.
The project also has support from ABC, Windalong Films and South Australian Film Corporation. It will be distributed by Dark Matter Distribution.
Baker will star as Travis Hurley, a detective who arrives in a small Australian outback town to investigate the 20-year-old unsolved murder of a local Aboriginal girl. He forms bonds with the victim’s fractured family, and unravels a series of hard truths, highlighting the complexities of loss and injustice experienced by First Nations Australians.
Screen Queensland said the production will inject around $1 million into the Queensland economy and create an estimated 50 jobs for Queenslanders, as well as trainee attachment opportunities for emerging and First Nations practitioners.
Kylie Munnich, CEO of Screen Queensland, noted that in addition to employment and economic benefits, one of the main intentions behind the Screen Finance program is to support the state’s screen producers and creatives to make screen stories for global audiences.
“Queenslander Ivan Sen is one of the nation’s most unique and prolific film creatives. He is a deeply influential First Nations voice, shaping our country’s cultural landscape and achieving box office success” said Munnich.
“Screen Queensland proudly supported Ivan’s previous Bunya Productions films “Loveland”, “Mystery Road” and “Goldstone”, and we eagerly await the release of “Limbo” in cinemas in 2023.”
Sen described the film as a ‘desert noir’ or ‘neo western’, setting the dark, foreboding whodunnit against the backdrop of the rugged Australian desert.
“’Limbo’ is a quest for truth — an intimate study in intergenerational trauma and its ongoing post-colonial effects on Indigenous Australia,” said Sen.
“The world of “Limbo” is both nostalgic and authentic, and Simon is such a versatile and disciplined performer, who just exudes Hurley’s clashing stoicism and vulnerability that is simply electric on screen.”