El Niño X Near Dark

Penniless and homeless, a young mother makes her way to Melbourne with her 15-year-old son in tow to introduce him to his estranged father. Writer-director Nikita Dunovits-Ferrier takes her characters on a road trip through the highways of desperation, in the hope that the next exit is theirs and it leads to greener pastures. The drive is an intimate exploration of a conflicted relationship between mother and son, in what may be the last time they spend together. 

The film is the newest project to find its resting home at Near Dark. The project was created as a graduate film before going on to find a life of its own outside the classroom. El Niño garnered the plaudits of audiences from all over the world - thanks in part to the story’s universality and depiction of first and second-generation Australians. The director herself is Argentinian-Australian, and her heritage has a lot to do with her work.  

“I think for me it comes down to the fact that I don't necessarily, always want to create but rather I have no choice but to create’, says Dunovits-Ferrier. “It's in my blood. Making is all I’ve known, growing up with a creative family. I mostly create for myself. It keeps me sane and happy. Getting to share my creativity is a bonus, but not an absolute necessity.”

Words by Orson Dijle