Ivan Barge is a New Zealand director, his first short film 'Snooze Time' premiered on the website Short of the Week. His second, 'Madam Black', screened at over 150 festivals which include the Melbourne International, Tribeca, Palm Springs, Sao Paulo and Clermont-Ferrand, where the film won the 2016 Prix Du Public in the International Competition. The film went on to win over 40 awards, including Best Short Film at the 2017 New Zealand Film Awards. It was described by Laurent Crouzeix, director of the Clermont-Ferrand ISFF, in Cineuropa's 2016 Wrap of Shorts as "Definitely the festival hit of the year, Ivan's wonderful story probably reached out to a wider audience on the festival circuit than a number of feature's in theatre's this year".