Limbo
The fifth London Australian Film Festival opened with the UK premiere of LIMBO, a brooding outback noir from Gamilaroi filmmaker Ivan Sen (MYSTERY ROAD, GOLDSTONE).
Simon Baker plays Travis, a jaded detective, who arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the unsolved murder of an Aboriginal girl twenty years earlier. As harsh truths begin to unfold, he gains a new insight into the case from the victim’s fractured family, the surviving witnesses and the reclusive brother of the chief suspect.
Shot in the uncanny surrounds of Coober Pedy in outback South Australia, and deployed with Sen’s trademark laconic approach to genre, LIMBO is a poignant, intimate journey into the complexities of loss and the impact of the justice system on Aboriginal families in Australia.
As part of the AFTRS x LAFS dual 50th celebration, Ivan Sen’s 1997 AFTRS student short WARM STRANGERS played before LIMBO.
“Simon Baker is transcendent” - Guardian
“Visually Striking ... transfixing” - The Hollywood Reporter
“searing racial tension in a starkly atmospheric outback noir…as hard-boiled as the ground is hard-baked” - Variety
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:
Laila (LAFF Director):
“We are so thrilled to open our 2023 festival with two of our favourites back on London screens - Ivan Sen & Simon Baker. Fans of these two will not be disappointed with this moody and powerful crime thriller that shows their incredible talent moving a dark and subtle story along and keeping viewers absolutely gripped with every nuance”.
Stephen (LAFF Co-Programmer):
“A new Ivan Sen film is always a treat, and fans of his Jay Swan saga (MYSTERY ROAD, GOLDSTONE) will not be disappointed by this gritty, monochrome delight, packed with brilliant performances.”
Co-Presented with Border Crossings - Origins.
With thanks to Bunya Films and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.