Dylan River
Birth date1992 (age 34–35)
Birth placeAlice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Notable worksRobbie Hood (2019); The Beach (2020); Mystery Road: Origin (2022); Thou Shalt Not Steal (2024)
Years active2013–present

Dylan River (born 1992), also credited as Dylan River Glynn McDonald, is an Australian film director, writer, and cinematographer. He co-wrote and directed the series Robbie Hood in 2019, and is known for his as cinematographer on the 2020 series The Beach, documenting his father, Warwick Thornton. He also wrote and directed episodes of the prequel TV series Mystery Road: Origin (2022), and in 2024 is co-creator and director of Thou Shalt Not Steal.

Early life and family

Dylan River was born in 1992[1][2] in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. His father, Warwick Thornton, is a filmmaker and his mother, Penelope McDonald, is a producer,[3] screenwriter, and director.[4] He is the grandson of Freda Glynn, the co-founder of CAAMA.[5]

Career

River's work includes writing, direction and cinematography.[6][7]

In 2013, his debut feature documentary, Buckskin, about Kaurna educator Jack Buckskin, won the Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize.[8][9][10] It is available on SBS on Demand.[11]

In 2017, River (credited as Dylan River Glynn McDonald) directed a short documentary film about actor and musician Tom E. Lewis, called Finding Maawirrangga. The film was written by Lewis, produced by Julia Morris, and executive produced by Lewis' wife Fleur Parry. Itnd screened at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival[12] and 2018 Flickerfest.[13] Not long after Lewis' death in May 2018, the film screened at the inaugural Northern Territory Travelling Film festival in June of that year. The film tells of Lewis' return to his grandmother's country to learn his songlines, and in it he also relates how he contravened some cultural norms on stage.[14]

In 2019, River co-created (with Tanith Glynn-Maloney), co-wrote (with Kodie Bedford), and directed Robbie Hood, a six-part series of 10-minute episodes,[15] which was widely praised.[16][17][18] Pedrea Jackson stars as Robbie, a young teenager with a kind heart, who goes around Alice Springs with his two friends "borrowing heavily" from the rich to help his family and friends.[17] It had its world premiere at Canneseries[15] The series won an AACTA Award for Best Online Comedy or Drama[19] and a Screen Producers Australia Award for Online Series Production of the Year. The production company, Ludo Studio, producers of Bluey, also won another major SPA Award for their business.[20][21] All episodes became available on SBS on Demand on 5 July, while the series first aired on SBS Viceland on 9 July, and aired on NITV on 11 November 2019.[22][23]

He directed the 2022 six-part prequel series Mystery Road: Origin,[24] and co-wrote several episodes.[25][26]

Over some of the 10 years leading up to its release in June 2023, River worked with his mother, Penelope McDonald, as co-writer and cinematographer on the feature-length documentary film Audrey Napanangka, about a Warlpiri woman and her partner, Santos, who have raised many children in the Central Desert. The film's locations included Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Yuendumu, and Mount Theo (Purturlu), Audrey's country, and it was co-produced by Trisha Morton-Thomas and Rachel Clements.[4][27] Rona Glynn-McDonald (founder of not-for-profit Common Ground[28][29]) was executive producer of the film.[27]

In 2024 River co-created (with Tanith Glynn-Maloney) and directed a Stan Original series, Thou Shalt Not Steal. Shot in South Australia and the Northern Territory, the road trip comedy drama series stars Noah Taylor, Miranda Otto, Will McDonald, and Sherry-Lee Watson. It premiered on 17 October 2024 on Stan in Australia.[30]

Filmography

YearTitleContributionNote
2022Mystery Road: OriginDirector and writerTV series
2020A Sunburnt ChristmasCinematographerFeature film
2020The BeachCinematographer6 episodes
2019Robbie HoodDirector and writer6 episodes
2019The Australian DreamCinematographerDocumentary
2018Finke: There and BackDirector, writer and cinematographerDocumentary
2018Ward OneDirector and writerShort film
2017Sweet CountrySecond unit directorFeature film
2017Coat of ArmsDirector and writerShort film
2017Finding MawirangaDirector and cinematographerDocumentary
2017BlaskoCinematographerDocumentary
2017We Don't Need a MapCinematographerDocumentary
2016Black ComedyWriter1 episode
2015Black ChookDirectorShort film
2015Nulla NullaDirector, writer and composerShort film
2014Who We Are: Brave New ClanCinematographerDocumentary
2014Talking Language with Ernie DingoCinematographerDocumentary
2013BuckskinDirector and composerDocumentary
2023Audrey NapanangkaCo-writer, cinematographerDocumentary
2024Thou Shalt Not StealDirectorComedy series

Awards and nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.
2021WonAACTA AwardsBest Cinematography in a DocumentaryThe Beach: Too Mad Too Shy[31]
NominatedBest Cinematography in TelevisionA Sunburnt Christmas
2019WonBest Online Drama or ComedyRobbie Hood[32]
NominatedSpecial CommendationFinke: There and Back[33]
2018NominatedFilm Critics Circle of AustraliaBest CinematographySweet Country[34]
2017NominatedCamerimageMain Competition[35]
NominatedAsia Pacific Screen AwardsAchievement in Cinematography[36]
2015NominatedBerlin International Film FestivalBest Short FilmNulla Nulla
WonAACTA AwardsBest Short Film[37]

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.

! Ref. |- | 2019 | Dylan River for Briggs (featuring Greg Holden) - "Life Is Incredible" | Best Video | | [38] |-

References

  1. ^ Frater, Patrick (2024-09-13). "Dylan River’s Toronto Series ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’ Explores Australia’s Dark History With Humor: ‘If You’re Preaching to the Converted, How Are You Educating?’ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety
  2. ^ Maher, Dani (2024-09-23). "Dylan River, the auteur from Alice". Esquire
  3. ^ "Filmmaking royalty: Dylan River's Robbie Hood is cheeky, joyous and full of mischief". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  4. ^ "About". Audrey Napanangka. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Freda Glynn biography wins documentary film of the year at SFF". SBS. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  6. ^ "Director Dylan River turns Desert Race obsession into new film". SBS. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  7. ^ "Preserving Aboriginal Culture: Dylan River". Canon. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  8. ^ "Buckskin Wins Sydney 2013 Documentary Prize, Perception Wins the Dendys". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  9. ^ "Buckskin". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Buckskin". Screen Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Buckskin". SBS On Demand. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Finding Maawirrangga (2017)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Finding Maawirrangga". Flickerfest. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  14. ^ Sebag-Montefiore, Clarissa (9 June 2018). "The inflatable screen taking Indigenous film back to the Top End". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Robbie Hood" (in French). CANNESERIES. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ MacNamara, Brian (11 July 2019). "TV Review – Robbie Hood: Season 1". TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  17. ^ Rugendyke, Louise (3 July 2019). "Robbie Hood is the most perfect piece of TV you'll see this year". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  18. ^ Knox, David (7 July 2019). "Robbie Hood". TV Tonight. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Robbie Hood". Ludo. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Screen Producers Awards". westendmagazine. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  21. ^ Keast, Jackie (14 November 2019). "Ludo Studio tops the SPA Awards". IF Magazine. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  22. ^ "A 13-year-old misfit rights the wrongs in his home town". National Indigenous Times. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Watch Robbie Hood". Stream free on SBS On Demand. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Mark Coles Smith to star in Mystery Road: Origin". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  25. ^ "Mystery Road: Origin premieres in July. Every mystery starts somewhere". ABC. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  26. ^ Buckmaster, Luke (3 July 2022). "Mystery Road: Origin review – Jay Swan is back and as great as ever". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Audrey Napanangka (2023) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Rona Glynn-McDonald named as finalist in Women's Weekly's “Women of the Future”.". Yalari. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  29. ^ "Rona Glynn-McDonald". Common Ground. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  30. ^ Dare, Laura (8 October 2024). "SA's screen scene is popping! Here’s what to watch where.". The Post. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  31. ^ "WINNERS & NOMINEES". aacta.org. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  32. ^ "OVERVIEW". aacta.org. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  33. ^ "‘The Nightingale’, ‘Lambs Of God’ Lead 2019 Australian Academy Awards Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  34. ^ "2018 Awards". fcca.com.au. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  35. ^ "CAMERIMAGE 2017 MAIN COMPETITION LINE-UP!". camerimage.pl. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  36. ^ "WARWICK THORNTON AND DYLAN RIVER FOR SWEET COUNTRY". asiapacificscreenawards.com. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  37. ^ "AACTA Awards 2015: first round goes to Mad Max: Fury Road". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  38. ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "Winners by Award – Artisan Awards – Best Video". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 December 2019.

Further reading