Beneath Clouds

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Beneath Clouds
Beneathcloudsposter.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Ivan Sen
Written byIvan Sen
Produced byTeresa-Jayne Hanlon
StarringDannielle Hall
Damian Pitt
CinematographyAllan Collins
Edited byKaren Johnson
Music byIvan Sen
Alister Spence
Release date
  • 23 May 2002 (2002-05-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$2.5 million
Box officeA $548,416 (Australia)

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.

Contents

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

Only two film critics have posted reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes, 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". [1]

Accolades

AwardCategorySubjectResult
AACTA Awards
(2003 AFI Awards)
Best Film Teresa-Jayne HanlonNominated
Best Direction Ivan Sen Won
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Dannielle HallNominated
Best Cinematography Allan CollinsWon
Best Original Music Score Alister SpenceNominated
Ivan SenNominated
Berlin International Film Festival First Movie AwardWon
Golden Berlin BearNominated
New Talent AwardDannielle HallWon
FCCA Awards Best Female ActorNominated
Best DirectorIvan SenNominated
Best CinematographyAllan CollinsNominated
Best Music ScoreAlister SpenceNominated
Ivan SenNominated
Inside Film Awards Best DirectionWon
Best ActressDannielle HallNominated
Best CinematographyAllan CollinsWon
Best EditingKaren JohnsonNominated

Box office

Beneath Clouds grossed $548,416 at the box office in Australia. [2]

See also

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References

  1. Beneath Clouds (2002) , retrieved 10 June 2021
  2. "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2010.