Resentment, racism and murder. Heartbreak High this ain't.

When ambitious educator Matt Bashir (Alex Dimitriades) is given the principal's job at Sydney's notorious boys-only Boxdale High School, it's hard to know whether the move is a promotion or a career killer. A simmering cauldron of socioeconomic troubles and ethnic tensions, Boxdale is the kind of place that Bashir is determined to fix. But just when it seems like he's making headway, the body of one of the students is found dead on the grounds, and everything Bashir has fought for starts falling apart.

Award-winning director Kriv Stenders (Red Dog, MIFF 2010) makes his first foray into TV storytelling with the riveting drama of The Principal. A richly imagined, deeply troubling journey through the multicultural landscape of Australia, The Principal – written by Kristen Dunphy (East West 101) and Alice Addison (The Hunter) and produced by Ian Collie of Essential Media (Rake, Jack Irish, Saving Mr Banks) – is Australian television drama at its most powerful and accomplished: confident, confronting and full of style.

MIFF will premiere the first two episodes of this new SBS drama series. The Principal will then air on SBS in October.

Kriv Stenders and Alex Dimitriades are festival guests.

Find out more about the Talking Pictures panel event related to this screening.