NAINA SEN BIO

Born and brought up in New Delhi, India, Naina Sen is a Walkley and AACTA nominated filmmaker and video artist. Based on the lands of the Larrakia People in Darwin, Naina has worked extensively with remote Aboriginal communities in North-East Arnhem Land and the Central Desert in the Northern Territory for the last 12 years. Working across documentary, installation and projection, Naina explores gender and cultural identity and equity, privileging First Nations and South East Asian narratives.

Early in her career, From 2008-2011 , whilst working for record label Skinnyfish Music, Naina created and operated the visual projections that accompanied award winning Indigenous musician Dr. G Yunupingu’s live show, touring with him nationally and internationally (Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, National Gallery of Australia, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Union Chapel (UK), National Centre for the performing Arts, Beijing, WOMADelaide), whilst directing and filming an ongoing documentary on his life.

In 2010 Naina directed Stories Through Song a half hour documentary for PBS combining rare concert footage of Dr. G with behind the scenes footage and interviews with his family.  She was also the Associate Producer and cinematographer for ABC’s Australian Story profile on Gurrumul, You’re the voice.

In 2012 Naina embarked on a full time independent arts practice, creating her own production company and has worked as an independent filmmaker and video artist ever since.

In 2012/ 2013 Naina produced a multi screen video installation ‘Wanarn is our home’ as part of the acclaimed'Land and Body' Indigenous art exhibition curated by Warburton Arts Project that toured across 14 museums in China in 2013. The exhibition won the prestigious Arts in Asia Award, Indigenous category in 2013.

In 2013 Naina also produced 8 installation films for the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Melbourne Museum’s internationally award winning First Peoples permanent exhibition, including ‘The story of Louisa Briggs’ on Boon Wurrung elder and custodian Arweet Carolyn Briggs’s great grandmother.

In 2014-2015 Naina co-wrote and edited Bulunu Milkarri, part of the Songlines To Screen initiative, directed by Sylvia Nulpinditj and produced by ARDS. The film premiered at the Sydney International Film Festival 2015 and won Best Language production at the ImagiNative Film festival, Toronto 2015.

In 2014 Naina began a significant collaboration with Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir across 6 remote communities in Central Australia on two of her most substantial works.

The first was ‘Arrkanala Lyilhitjika’ A multi-media choral work in Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara that was created to take on a historic 3 week tour of Germany in 2015. Naina collaborated on the show as the video projection artist and created 75 minutes of large format visual and narrative projections for the show. The show has since toured across Australia (Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, Womadelaide, Darwin Festival) as well as performances at the Kennedy Performing Centre in Washington DC and the Gruin Gallery in New York in 2018.

The 2nd project, The Song Keepers was Naina’s debut feature documentary. Premiering at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2017 to critical acclaim, the film had a 12 week theatrical released across Australia in 2018 , making it one of the most successful Australian documentaries in recent years. The Song Keepers was nominated for numerous awards including best feature documentary by Screen Producers Australia (SPA) Awards 2017, Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2018, the audience award for best documentary at MIFF 2017 and for the prestigious Walkley Documentary award for excellence in journalism. It has since been released in over 10 countries.

In 2018  Naina collaborated with senior textile artists Bernadette Watt and Annabell Amagula from Anindilyakwa Arts, Groote Eylandt on a single channel mixed media installation Stories of Our Silk : Colours of Our Land , which was nominated for the NATSIAA (National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award) New Media Award in 2018.Naina also created Face To Face, a large scale site specific portraiture projection work that played every night at Festival Park for the duration of Darwin Festival. The same year Naina also received an Asialink Fellowship and spent 3 months in Delhi,India at the Sanskriti foundation.

In 2020, Naina directed and produced the 8 part series Jimmy Shu’s Taste Of The Territory for SBS, exploring the multicultural tapestry and culinary landscape of the Top End of Australia, focussing especially on the personal stories and cuisines of South East Asian migration to the Northern Territory. Hosted by Sri Lankan Chinese chef and Northern Territory icon, Jimmy Shu, 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.

Naina’s latest experimental dance film Poleng  (MIFF 2021, ABC ARTS, IVIEW) melds contemporary movement, balinese dance and archival memory to explore the complexities of biracial identity.

In 2021  Naina created 2 site specific public projection works- MABBÚLARR and VORTEX, projected onto Darwin’s water towers for the Water Tower Series; part of the NT Travelling Film Festival and the Darwin Street Art Festival.

She was also chosen for Australia Council’s Transmitter: Darwin x Delhi online lab that has eventuated in her currently collaborating with 3 other multidisciplinary artists of Indian heritage from India and Australia on an interactive video mapping, dance and sound art Installation work, Transmutation.

Naina is currently on the National Artistic Directorate of Next Wave and is also developing large scale, multi-screen immersive video installation সুন্দরী (Shundori) between Australia and India, that deconstructs the Indian Feminine, exploring the intersections of ritual, mythology, sexuality and gender.