| Toomelah | |
| Director: | Ivan Sen |
| Producer: | David Jowsey |
| Starring: | Daniel Connors Christopher Edwards Michael Connors |
| Music: | Ivan Sen |
| Cinematography: | Ivan Sen |
| Editing: | Ivan Sen |
| Studio: | Bunya Productions |
| Distributor: | Visit Films |
| Runtime: | 106 minutes |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
Toomelah is a 2011 Australian drama film written and directed by Ivan Sen and starring Daniel Connors, Christopher Edwards, and Michael Connors.[1] It was shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on 11 May in the Un Certain Regard program, where it received a two-minute long standing ovation.[2] The film's story takes place in Toomelah Station, New South Wales.
Daniel is a ten-year-old boy living in Toomelah, NSW. After being suspended from school for threatening to stab a classmate with a pencil and finding there is little to do in his town, he decides he wants to be a part of the gang controlling the drug trade in his township, so he decides to help Linden, a well-known local drug dealer. Bruce, one of Linden's rivals, is released from prison and a turf war erupts. Meanwhile, Daniel faces problems at school and in his family, such as his mother's addictions, the estrangement of his alcoholic father and the return of his aunt who was forcibly removed from the mission as a child during the Stolen Generations.[3]
When asked why he made a film about Toomelah, director Ivan Sen said:
Before filming, Sen obtained permission to film in Toomelah from the town's elders. Sen shot most of the scenes himself, as many of the actors in the movie are his personal friends and he believed their acting would be restricted if an entire conventional crew did the filming.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2011 Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Performance by an Actor | Daniel Connors | [4] |
| UNESCO Screen Award | Toomelah | [5] | |
| 2011 Pacific Meridian Film Festival | Grand Prix | ||