'Goldstone', an outback thriller by the award-winning director opens the 63rd Sydney Film Festival on Wednesday night.
The world premiere 'Goldstone' features one of the country's acting greats, Aaron Pedersen and is directed by Ivan Sen.
It's the second time Ivan Sen has taken centre stage at the film festival and he says it’s an “extreme honour”.
“To be back just three years later with Goldstone…we're just very, very excited and very honoured to be back again here doing the opening night here again in Sydney,” he told NITV News.
Aaron Pedersen plays the film's protagonist, Aboriginal detective Jay Swan, who travels to the town of Goldstone on the trail of a missing person.
But when his motel room is blasted with gunfire, he realises the case is a lot bigger than he thought.
Aaron Pedersen told NITV News his character is not just a cop navigating through a web of crime and corruption.
“Jay’s just one of those characters that exists in this country – [an] Indigenous [person] that walks in two worlds…they've got to appease two different cultures, two different colours,” he says.
Ivan Sen says he used the outback thriller genre to explore deeper themes.
“The beauty about filmmaking for me is you can take those layers that are happening in our country and put that up on the screen and entertain people and provoke thought, and also be emotive at the same time.”
Goldstone was set in Queensland. Source: NITV News