Aden Young stars as Nat, a small landholder barely hanging on to his patch of the bush in this gripping period film. His daughter Sarah is just old enough to see herself as a woman, his son Tom just old enough to judge his father as a man. When three ex-soldiers arrive amidst rumours of gold, the group begins to turn on each other, and the cabin becomes a psychological battleground in which Tom's loyalty to his father is put to the ultimate test.

Kriv Stenders (Boxing Day, AFF07) turns away from the rough contemporary look of his recent films to channel the visual traditions of the Heidelberg School. He mixes in a claustrophobic tension, producing a work with richly mythic resonance. Lucky Country places the fear of the bush, of being overmatched by something larger than yourself, back at the centre of Australian culture, suggesting the tenuous way that Australians might ever claim to be at home in this landscape.

Awards

• Nominated AFI Award for Best Costume Design

• Nominated AFI Award for Young Actor Award – Toby Wallace

In Competition

Cinema des Antipodes, St Tropez, France 09; Cork Film Festival, Ireland 09; Palm Springs, 2010; London Australian Film Festival 10

Festivals

Adelaide 09; Montreal International Film Festival 09