The Tatts Finke Desert Race is Australia’s toughest off-road event, pitting mad drivers against the harsh outback in a dust-fuelled cavalcade of cars, bikes, buggies and quads.

The annual race is a multi-terrain endurance trek from Alice Springs to the small Aputula (Finke) community. Its remote and difficult off-road conditions have given it the reputation as one of the most dangerous of its kind. With tragic fatalities and high-octane thrills and spills, the race is guaranteed to get heart-rates pumping.

Director Dylan River brings a gift for flair and grit to his feature debut after the acclaimed and award-winning short films Coat of Arms (MIFF 2017), Black Chook (MIFF 2016) and Nulla Nulla (MIFF 2015) and having worked as cinematographer alongside his dad Warwick Thornton on Sweet Country. River is also a competitor in the race, giving Finke: There and Back a rare insider perspective. Filming over three years, River explores his competitors, the organisers and even the paramedics as they drive wildly across the desert.