Beneath Clouds
Beneath Clouds is a film by Australian director Ivan Sen. It is the feature film debut by the two lead actors. Damian Pitt was approached by Sen on the streets of Moree, New South Wales, and had never acted before. Dannielle Hall was cast through a more traditional method, via an audition tape. Much of the support cast were local residents from Pitt's hometown of Moree.
| Beneath Clouds | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Ivan Sen |
| Produced by | Teresa-Jayne Hanlon |
| Written by | Ivan Sen |
| Starring | Dannielle Hall Damian Pitt |
| Music by | Ivan Sen Alister Spence |
| Cinematography | Allan Collins |
| Edited by | Karen Johnson |
Release date | 23 May 2002 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$2.5 million |
| Box office | A $548,416 (Australia) |
Plot synopsis
Lena has an absent Irish father she longs to see and an Aboriginal mother she finds disgusting. When she breaks away, she meets up with petty criminal Vaughn who's just escaped from low security prison to reluctantly visit his dying mother. Blonde and light-skinned, Lena remains in denial about her Aboriginal heritage; Vaughn is an angry young man with a grudge against all whites. An uneasy relationship begins to form as they hit the road heading to Sydney, taking them on a journey that's as emotional as it is physical, as revealing as it is desperate.
Initially the two reluctant travelling companions are suspicious and wary of each other, but their journey, mostly by foot and the odd lift, builds an understanding between them. The film follows its creator's (Ivan Sen's) own experiences growing up in Inverell, NSW with an Aboriginal mother and a European father who was not around.
Production
The film was financed by the New South Wales Film Commission and the Australian Film Finance Corporation.
Reception
The Rotten Tomatoes Want-To-See score is currently 79%, but no official approval rating has been announced to this day. Only two film critics have posted reviews on the site, both positive. Urban Cinefile Critics commented "Displaying about equal amounts of naiveté, passion and talent, Beneath Clouds establishes Sen as a filmmaker of considerable potential". Andrew Howe of eCritic.com called it "One of the few feature films to canvass the issues facing the Aboriginal community from an adolescent perspective".
Accolades
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards (2003 AFI Awards) |
Best Film | Teresa-Jayne Hanlon | Nominated |
| Best Direction | Ivan Sen | Won | |
| Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Dannielle Hall | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Allan Collins | Won | |
| Best Original Music Score | Alister Spence | Nominated | |
| Ivan Sen | Nominated | ||
| Berlin International Film Festival | First Movie Award | Won | |
| Golden Berlin Bear | Nominated | ||
| New Talent Award | Dannielle Hall | Won | |
| FCCA Awards | Best Female Actor | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Ivan Sen | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Allan Collins | Nominated | |
| Best Music Score | Alister Spence | Nominated | |
| Ivan Sen | Nominated | ||
| Inside Film Awards | Best Direction | Won | |
| Best Actress | Dannielle Hall | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Allan Collins | Won | |
| Best Editing | Karen Johnson | Nominated | |
Box office
Beneath Clouds grossed $548,416 at the box office in Australia.[1]
References
- "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
External links
- Beneath Clouds at IMDb
- Beneath Clouds at Oz Movies
- Samantha Fordham: Struggling to find their place: Indigenous youth, identity, and storytelling in Beneath Clouds and Samson & Delilah. Refractory: a Journal for Entertainment Media. Vol 18, May 2011, Screen and Cinema Studies, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology, ISSN 1447-4905
- Beneath Clouds at the National Film and Sound Archive