'The Plains'.

David Easteal’s ‘The Plains’ proves an Aussie indie breakout on the world stage

The British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound magazine listed only two Australian features among its 50 best films of 2022. One was Baz Luhrmann’s Warner Bros.-backed behemoth Elvis, and the other a self-financed feature debut, David Easteal’s The Plains; a three-hour film set almost entirely within a car, shot with a static camera, and featuring non-actors.

The Plains, which premiered in Rotterdam’s Tiger competition, also placed no. 1 on Film Comment’s list of