Toomelah is a 2011 Australian drama film written and directed by Ivan Sen

Ivan Sen

Ivan Sen is an Australian filmmaker. Throughout the late 1990s Sen worked on numerous short films, before making his feature film debut with Beneath Clouds in 2002. He studied filmmaking at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, where he produced his first short films, working with the...

. It was shown at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival

2011 Cannes Film Festival

The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...

 on 11 May in the Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard

Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...

 program. The story is set at the Toomelah Aboriginal Mission

Toomelah Aboriginal Mission

Toomelah Station is an indigenous community in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia within the Boggabilla locality in Moree Plains Shire....

 in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

.

Plot

Daniel is a ten-year-old boy living at the Toomelah Aboriginal Mission

Toomelah Aboriginal Mission

Toomelah Station is an indigenous community in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia within the Boggabilla locality in Moree Plains Shire....

. He wants to be a gangster and helps out Linden, the local drug dealer. Bruce—one of Linden's rivals—is released from prison and a turf war

Turf war

According to Wordnet the definition of a turf war is "a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights". For example: a turf war erupted between street gangs; the president's resignation was the result of a turf war with the board of directors. In larger companies Turf wars could...

 erupts. Meanwhile, Daniel's aunt returns to the mission years after being removed as a child, as one of the Stolen Generations.

Cast

• Daniel Connors as Daniel
• Christopher Edwards as Linden
• Danieka Connors as Tanitia
• Dean Daley-Jones as Bruce