Dylan River

Dylan River
Born	1992 (age 31–32) Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Occupation(s)	Director, writer, cinematographer
Years active	2013–present
Notable work	Robbie Hood (2019); The Beach (2020); Mystery Road: Origin (2022); Thou Shalt Not Steal (2024)

Dylan River (born 1991 or 1992) 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.

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]

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 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,^[12] which was widely praised.^[13][14][15] 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.^[14] It had its world premiere at Canneseries^[12] The series won an AACTA Award for Best Online Comedy or Drama^[16] 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.^[17][18] 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.^[19][20]

He directed the 2022 six-part prequel series Mystery Road: Origin,^[21] and co-wrote several episodes.^[22][23]

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][24] Rona Glynn-McDonald (founder of not-for-profit Common Ground^[25][26]) was executive producer of the film.^[24]

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.^[27]

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.

• Mailman, Deborah (introduction) (2018), Duthie, Amanda (ed.), Kin : an extraordinary Australian filmmaking family: Including Freda Glynn, Warwick Thornton, Erica Glynn, Dylan River, Tanith Glynn-Maloney (catalogue entry), Wakefield Press, ISBN 978-1-74305-635-6 – via Trove
• Siemienowicz, Rochelle (1 November 2018). "Freda Glynn - from little things, big things grow". ScreenHub Australia. Book review and extract.

• Dylan River at IMDb