Gamilaroi man Ivan Sen is one of Aboriginal Australia, in fact, Australia’s most talented filmmakers. He is famed for films like Beneath Clouds, Toomelah and Mystery Road. He has just released his fourth feature film – Goldstone, which follows on from Mystery Road. It stars Aaron Pedersen, who continues his role as Indigenous detective Jay Swan, this time entering a remote mining outpost to search for a missing Chinese woman.
The film raises a number of themes around mining on Aboriginal lands, and the complicated relationship it poses to our communities.
As Sen says: “individual gain through positional advantage is eating at the core of Indigenous communities, perhaps like never before. Since first contact, Indigenous people have always been tempted by the trappings of the white world. Today, the stakes have never been so high, with billions of dollar sin play, and cultures facing destruction from the modern world. It is a time where culture and spirit is being challenged like never before.”
The film also stars David Gulpilil, Ursula Yovich, Tom E Lewis, Jackie Weaver and Alex Russell. It is being released in cinemas on July 7.
To see the video of this interview, click here.