Production is underway in South Australia’s iconic underground mining town of Coober Pedy on new feature film Limbo from Australian auteur Ivan Sen (Mystery Road, Goldstone, Loveland), produced by Bunya Productions (Sweet Country, Mystery Road: Origin, True Colours).

Limbo stars AACTA Award-winning, Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor Simon Baker (Breath, Blaze, The Mentalist, High Ground), with Rob Collins (The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, Firebite), South Australian actor Natasha Wanganeen (Rabbit Proof Fence, Firebite) and Nicholas Hope (Bad Boy Bubby, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson).

Baker stars as Travis Hurley, a detective who arrives in a small Australian Outback town to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved murder of a local Aboriginal girl. Forming bonds with the victim’s fractured family, Travis unravels a series of hard truths, highlighting the complexities of loss and injustice experienced by First Nations Australians.

South Australian Minister for The Arts The Hon. Andrea Michaels said “We are thrilled to welcome multi-award winning Bunya Productions and acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Sen to South Australia, to the truly unique setting of Coober Pedy. Following on from other recent productions such as Mortal Kombat and Firebite which also filmed in South Australia’s legendary underground city, Limbo will showcase one of the State’s most iconic locations to a global audience.

“The production holds great benefits for South Australia, and is expected to inject more than $500,000 into the local economy, while also employing a specialist South Australian crew including Costume Designer Theo Benton, Location Manager Scott McCarten, Armourer Piers Hunt and Unit Manager Josh Jaeger.”

CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation Kate Croser said “Ivan Sen and Bunya Productions’ collaborations have delivered some of Australia’s most distinctive stories on screen, grounded in the story’s location.

“Driven by SAFC’s commitment to growing and diversifying the pool of South Australian ‘Greenlighter’ talent, Bunya created an opportunity for an emerging First Nations practitioner to gain hands-on experience and a feature film credit on the production. We were delighted that celebrated actor, singer, songwriter and emerging screen maker Elaine Crombie worked on this project as an Associate Producer.

“We are thrilled that Elaine’s association with Limbo has provided an excellent career development opportunity to learn from experienced producers David Jowsey, Rachel Higgins and Greer Simpkin and director Ivan Sen.”

Limbo will be the seventh feature from Ivan Sen, following the success of his 2022 sci-fi film Loveland and celebrated outback mysteries Goldstone and Mystery Road, now a popular ABC Australia series.

Ivan Sen described Limbo as a “desert noir” or “neo western”, setting the dark, foreboding whodunnit against the backdrop of the rugged Australian desert.

“Limbo is a quest for truth — an intimate study in intergenerational trauma and its ongoing post-colonial effects on Indigenous Australia,” said Sen.

“The world of Limbo is both nostalgic and authentic, and Simon Baker is such a versatile and disciplined performer, who just exudes Hurley’s clashing stoicism and vulnerability that is simply electric on screen.”

Renowned for writing, directing, editing, handling cinematography and scoring his own films, Sen is also a co-producer on Limbo, alongside Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin (Mystery Road Origin, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, High Ground, Sweet Country) and Rachel Higgins (Apprentice, Red Hill).

Limbo is a Bunya Productions film presented by the ABC and Screen Queensland in association with Windalong Films and the South Australian Film Corporation. The film will be distributed by Dark Matter Distribution.

Learn more about the benefits of filming in South Australia – unique locations, funding incentives, experienced and dedicated crews, flexible, purpose-built studios, and the support of the SAFC team.