News out of TIFF!
Brainstorm Media, an independent film distribution mainstay, has acquired rights to Ivan Sen’s crime drama LIMBO ahead of its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Following its world premiere in competition at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival, LIMBO will be jointly distributed as part of a long-standing partnership between Brainstorm Media and Music Box Films. In LIMBO, filmmaker Ivan Sen returns to his roots with a visceral Australian noir starring Simon Baker as a jaded detective investigating the cold case murder of a local Indigenous girl.
“LIMBO is a continuation of the themes I explored in my previous films MYSTERY ROAD and GOLDSTONE,” says Sen. “Those films dealt with primarily an Indigenous perspective of the justice system through the eyes of an Indigenous police officer. Limbo explores the deeper impact of a crime on an Indigenous family through the eyes of a white policeman. The source of these ideas has largely come from my personal experience, from family members and friends who have been victims of crime. I have witnessed their struggle not only for justice, but also for fairness and recognition by the Australian justice system.”
Brainstorm Media will handle the digital and home entertainment distribution for LIMBO following a theatrical release from Music Box Films in March 2024. Brainstorm Media and Music Box Films previously collaborated on MAMA WEED starring Isabelle Huppert.
“This is a stunning film that deserves to be seen on the big screen,” says Brainstorm Media CEO Michelle Shwarzstein. “We’re thrilled to be partnering again with Music Box, who understand the specialty box office landscape better than anyone.”
“We are excited to continue our successful collaboration with Brainstorm Media. The respective strengths of each of our companies complement each other nicely,” states Music Box Films' Brian Andreotti. “LIMBO is a riveting and visually ravishing film, and we welcome the opportunity to bring our expertise in theatrical distribution to the film's US release."
“It’s been brilliant working with the team at Brainstorm,” says Bunya Productions producer David Jowsey, “and the news of the release with Music Box is very exciting for LIMBO coming off the back of our premiere at TIFF.”
Synopsis
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case from the victim’s fractured family, the surviving witnesses and the reclusive brother of the chief suspect. A poignant, intimate journey into the complexities of loss and the impact of the justice system on Aboriginal families in Australia.
LIMBO is set in the South Australian outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy. The black and white photography captures the incredible landscape beautifully and delivers a rich and profound sense of place. The characters who populate this film are hardened souls surviving in a harsh and unforgiving town. But finding each other changes them, reminds each of them of their human compassion and thereby alters their destiny.
“Who or what is in Limbo? The Aboriginal Family. The Detective. Indigenous Culture. The Cars. The Landscape.” - Ivan Sen
Ivan Sen takes on a significant number of the key creative roles in all of his films, including Writer, Director, Producer, DOP, Editor, Colorist and Composer. This means a total immersion in and control over the construction of the film. The same is true of LIMBO, in which Sen returns to his previous body of work, set in the outback and dealing with Indigenous stories, characters and themes. These stories reflect and explore his own Australian Aboriginal heritage.
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