84 mns/ Feature Documentary
Writer/Director: Naina Sen
Producer: Naina Sen/ Rachel Clements/Trisha Morton Thomas
World Premiere: Melbourne International Film Festival August 2017
Synopsis
Central Australia's answer to the Buena Vista Social Club!
In the obscure churches of remote Central Australia an unknown 140-year musical legacy of ancient aboriginal languages, German sacred poetry and baroque music is being preserved by 4 generations of song women who make up the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir.
As the women go on a historic journey to take back the songs that were given to their ancestors by the Germans, but in their own ancient Aboriginal languages and on their own terms, we explore this incredible musical legacy and the complex, unspoken duality of Central Desert identity that goes with it.
Come on an adventure as the unlikeliest band on earth goes on tour…to the other side of the world!
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
PRODUCTION COMPANY: INDIGO PRODUCTIONS
Told through contemporary movement, Balinese dance and archival memory, POLENG is an experimental hybrid documentary and dance film that explores the simultaneous presence and absence of intergenerational relationships as Jocelyn Tribe unravels and pieces together the many layers and complexities of her mixed race identity as an adult.
Premiering at Melbourne International Film Festival 2021 and broadcast on ABC ARTS, the film is currently streaming on ABC IVIEW
KEY CREDITS
Director/Producer/Writer/Editor: Naina Sen
Executive Producer, ABC Arts: Kalita Corrigan
Comissioning Editor, ABC Factual: Julie Hanna
Artist & Performer: Jocelyn Tribe
Choreographer/Performer/Cultural Advisor: Desak Putu WarI
Cinematographer: Ben Ward
2nd Camera/Stills: Jacob Hazeldine
Sound Recordist: Francis Diatschenko
Composer: I Made Liam Budalasia
Writer/Director/Editor: Naina Sen
Produced by Indigo Productions and 360 Degree Films
Producers: Naina Sen, Sally Ingleton
Produced in association with SBS FOOD and Screen Territory.
Broadcast: April 2020 on SBS and SBS On Demand.
Over 3 million views across Australia and counting.
Broadcast on Asian Food Network: October 2020
Jimmy Shu’s Taste of the Territory is an 8-part series that takes you on a journey to the multicultural melting pot of Australia’s Northern Territory. Host and celebrated chef Jimmy Shu, explores the diverse sights, smells, breathtaking landscapes and stories of the Top End’s most celebrated and hidden foodies!
Darwin is a haven for opportunity and hope to the many waves of migrants who have often overcome immense hardship to start a new life here. Over decades and across generations, they have made Darwin their home and contributed significantly to its identity through their culture and food.
As Jimmy’s friends share their food and recipes, they also share their own stories of resilience, what bought them to Darwin and the childhood memories and culture that inspires their most personal expression of who they are: their food.
Nominated for an AACTA award in 2020, the series has had over 3 million views on SBS and is currently being broadcast across Asia, Europe, and America. Currently Screening on SBS ON DEMAND
Gurrumul- Stories through Song
A half-hour special made for PBS Television combining rare concert footage of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Live at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, Australia with behind the scenes footage of the reclusive singer and interviews with his family talking about his life and the cultural significance of his songs. Aired PBS, July 2010
Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Naina Sen
Producer: Skinnyfish Music
Bulunu Milkarri: Songlines to Screen Initiative (SBS/NITV)
Half hour documentary on an endangered women’s song line from North-East Arnhem Land
Director: Sylvia Nulpinditj
Co-Writer, Editor: Naina Sen
Producer and Co-Writer - Gaia Osborne
Production Company: Ards
Selection: Sydney International Film Festival 2015
Best Indigenous language production, ImagineNative Media and Arts Festival 2015, Toronto
'Wrapped In Country' is a short installation film commissioned by Bunjilaka, Melbourne Museum as part of its internationally award winning 'First Peoples' permanent exhibition.
The film accompanies and interprets a Yorta Yorta possum skin cloak exhibited as part of the installation. The cloak s over 150 years old and is 1 of 2 of the oldest complete possum skin cloaks in the world.
Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Naina Sen
Executive Producer: Genevieve Greeves
Sound Design/Recordist: Francis Diatschenko
'The Story of Louisa Briggs' is a short installation film commissioned by Bunjilaka, Melbourne Museum as part of its internationally award winning 'First Peoples' permanent exhibition.
The film accompanies and interprets a range of objects and photographs of early encounters the Boon Wurrung people had with the sealers and whalers that came from England.
Credits: Producer/Director/DP/Editor: Naina Sen
Cultural Advisor: Arweet Carolyn Briggs
Executive Producer: Amanda Jane Reynolds
ANTaR’s Justice Reinvestment National Online Campaign - Director/Cinematographer/Editor
2 of 5 x 5-minute short documentary films.
‘Defense of Darwin Experience’ - Director, Cinematographer/Editor
Six short documentaries about the survivors of the bombing of Darwin in 1942 through a combination of digital storytelling and archival materials. Produced for the Northern Territory Government and Department of Veterans’ Affairs for permanent exhibition at the Military Mu- seum in Darwin, touring installation and online distribution.
