Cirrus@Austlit

The series 'follows Constable Jay Swan, a charismatic young officer who arrives at his new station. Fresh from the city and tipped for big things, Jay might be the new copper, but he’s not new to this town. His estranged father Jack lives here, as does the woman who will change his life forever, Mary.'

Positioned as the third series of Mystery Road, it is set some twenty years earlier and acts as an 'origin story' for protagonist Jay Swan.

Detective Toni Alma is assigned to investigate a case in Perdar Theendar, the Indigenous community she left as a child and has had little to do with since. She soon becomes involved in the devious practices of the global art market and its selling of Indigenous art.

Source: Screen Australia press release.

When a young Aboriginal woman flees a cataclysmic event in her personal life, she finds herself involved with a mismatched group of doomsday preppers.

'The Tony Ayres Productions (TAP) series is planned as a serialised anthology, inspired by the stories of the people who survived the catastrophe and continue to endure its aftermath.

'Each episode will be based around character studies of ordinary people caught in the unimaginable and the impossible choices they were forced to make. These will include volunteer firefighters; families who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones; people who had to make agonising decisions about whether to stay or flee; and others who found themselves responsible for the lives of friends and strangers.'

Source: Inside Film (https://www.if.com.au/abc-tony-ayres-productions-developing-bushfire-drama/). (Sighted: 3/12/2020)

'A songline for 21st century Australia – a fresh look at the Cook legend from a First Nations’ perspective – the songline tells of connection to country, resistance and survival and features the cheeky, acerbic and heartfelt showman – Steven Oliver and a host of outstanding Indigenous singer/songwriters.'

Source: Screen Australia.

'Blue Water Empire is a dramatised documentary series giving a unique insight into the history and culture of the Torres Strait Islands. The series starts pre-colonisation and charts the all-pervasive impact of European arrival; from the missionaries to the influx of people from all around the world during the pearling boom. We see the devastating impact of World War II and the mass migration of Islanders to mainland Australia. The more recent history has seen an explosion of social activism, fighting for recognition, self-government and sea rights.'

Source: ABC TV (http://about.abc.net.au/abc-in-2017/change-makers/). (Sighted: 04/11/2016)

Series one:

'Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) is assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young farm hands on an outback cattle station. One is a local Indigenous footy hero, and the other a backpacker. Working with local cop Emma James (Judy Davis), Jay’s investigation uncovers a past injustice that threatens the fabric of the whole community.'

Source: Screen Australia (https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2017/07-12-mystery-road-series). (Sighted: 13/07/2017)

Series two:

'A headless corpse is found floating by the shore in a remote outback town. As if this weren’t mysterious enough, Detective Swan and his colleague Fran have to contend with protests against the excavation of an Indigenous site. And then another body turns up.'

Source: Berlinale program (Sighted: 13/02/2020)

'Sweet Country is set in 1929 in the outback of the Northern Territory. It is the story of a young boy called Philomac, who witnesses Sam, an Aboriginal stockman, kill station owner Harry Marsh in self defence. Sam and his pregnant wife Lizzie go on the run and a posse pursues them across the outback. The posse cannot catch Sam, as he is a clever man and an expert bushman. Eventually for the health of his pregnant wife, Sam gives himself up. A trial is held in town and when the truth comes out in the courtroom about Sam's actions, he is acquitted. Justice has been served. Philomac and Sam set off on their journey home, but soon after leaving town, a shot rings out and Justice is crushed…' (Publication summary)

'THE WARRIORS is set in the world of Australian Rules Football. It explores the elite world of professional sport through the eyes of two new recruits - plucked from obscurity to fame and fortune - and two established players as they are thrown together in a share house in Melbourne.'

Source: ABC media release (https://tv.press.abc.net.au/footy-season-may-be-over-but-new-abc-tv-series-is-just-warming-up#). (Sighted: 11/10/2016)

'Servant or Slave follows the lives of five Aboriginal women who were stolen from their families and trained to be domestic servants. With the government exercising complete control over their wages, many thousands of Aboriginal girls and boys were effectively condemned to a treadmill of abuse, from which there was little hope of escape.' (Source: Screen Australia website)

This powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting telemovie explores the impact of a violent crime on two women and the fight for justice.

'In the 1980s, George Rrurrambu, the frontman of the pioneering Warumpi Band, made an extraordinary contribution to contemporary Aboriginal music and reconciliation. Dubbed 'the black Mick Jagger’ for his energetic performances, and hailed a legend for being the first to sing rock’n'roll music in Aboriginal languages, George caught Australia by surprise. He left a legacy that changed the face of Indigenous music, uniting his own people and bringing black and white together.'

'George Rrurrambu died a rock’n'roll legend in 2007 and there is no other quite like him. For the first time, this is his story.' (Source: National Film & Sound Archive)

Redfern Now is 'the first contemporary TV drama series written, directed and produced by Indigenous Australians.'

Source: ABC Television website.

'Aaron Davis is a proud Indigenous policeman: proud of the community in which he works, and very proud of his daughter Robyn and his three-year-old granddaughter Donna.

'It's early morning, and Aaron does his usual boxing training with local kids, and the only thing to mar the day is that he is being taunted by young troublemaker Lenny.

'Late that day as Aaron is finishing up at the station Lenny is brought in yelling abuse. Lenny's been in a bad fight and Aaron is about to call for a doctor. But he stops when Lenny's taunting pushes him too far, and so when Lenny calls out from the cell in pain, Aaron ignores him.

'But Lenny's cries suddenly stop and Aaron realises that something is terribly wrong. He rushes to help, but it's too late — Lenny is dead. And so Aaron's nightmare begins.

'As word of the death spreads, Lenny's brother tries to cause trouble but he and his young friends are held back, talked around by family and community. Lenny's mother, Aunty Mona, asks Aaron whether her boy suffered. Aaron lies and tells her no.

'But when Lenny's family is shown the cell surveillance tapes, Aaron has to find the courage to go and tell Aunty Mona the truth.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 11/6/2013)

'In the Monsoon season, the Daly River region is lashed by savage storms which bring the landscape and river to life. Legend says it is the Sugar Glider traveling across the sky mischievously moving the clouds around, which brings the rain. But amidst the tropical beauty lies danger.'

'Stories about the monsoons and the river have been told to children for generations, to teach them to have respect for the bush and to be wary of its dangers. The Wabuymem is one of these stories.'

'The Wabuymem is a little grey spirit that lives in the banyan tree, lying in wait for curious children. The spirit stalks the children and lures them away from their families into the tangled mass of the banyan tree, never to be seen again. Wungung is one such boy who strays away from his grandparents while hunting. His fate is sealed when he disturbs the little grey spirit in the banyan tree …'

'This reconstruction of Wangung’s story evocatively captures the full power and visual richness of the stormy wet season. The filmmaker, Steve McGregor, has been making films in the Daly River region for 15 years and has been associated with the area through his wife who comes from the region.'

'In a League of Their Own the documentary follows the fortunes of the first all-Aboriginal Australian Rules football team to enter a mainstream AFL-affiliated competition, through their first bone-jarring season. After 30 years of running their own competition on a remote island community north of Darwin, the Tiwi Bombers have finally been accepted into the AFLNT to compete in the Big League.'