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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Australian TV drama puts spotlight on Aboriginal life | Australian TV drama puts spotlight on Aboriginal life |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| The broadcast of an all-indigenous television series on primetime TV in Australia is being hailed as a landmark moment for Aboriginal filmmakers. | The broadcast of an all-indigenous television series on primetime TV in Australia is being hailed as a landmark moment for Aboriginal filmmakers. |
| Redfern Now is a series of six loosely connected dramas that explore the lives of contemporary indigenous families in inner-city Sydney. The series is set in The Block, a precinct in Redfern known historically as the centre of Aboriginal political activism. | Redfern Now is a series of six loosely connected dramas that explore the lives of contemporary indigenous families in inner-city Sydney. The series is set in The Block, a precinct in Redfern known historically as the centre of Aboriginal political activism. |
| "These sorts of stories that look into Aboriginal communities are rare and I think we take the audience to a place they've never been before," said Sally Riley, head of the ABC's indigenous department, who commissioned the project. "People are saying to me they didn't even know this world existed." | "These sorts of stories that look into Aboriginal communities are rare and I think we take the audience to a place they've never been before," said Sally Riley, head of the ABC's indigenous department, who commissioned the project. "People are saying to me they didn't even know this world existed." |
| Redfern Now is the first television series to be commissioned, written, acted and produced by indigenous Australians. "It's a landmark because for so long we have had other people telling our stories and the government telling us what we should be doing to help ourselves. This is a chance for us to comment on our own stuff, our own problems, our own issues," Riley said. | Redfern Now is the first television series to be commissioned, written, acted and produced by indigenous Australians. "It's a landmark because for so long we have had other people telling our stories and the government telling us what we should be doing to help ourselves. This is a chance for us to comment on our own stuff, our own problems, our own issues," Riley said. |
| Riley was recruited to the national broadcaster two years ago with a brief to get more indigenous content on TV. She said there had been some progress on the big screen with films such as Samson and Delilah and The Sapphires, but until now small-screen indigenous drama had existed on the margins. | Riley was recruited to the national broadcaster two years ago with a brief to get more indigenous content on TV. She said there had been some progress on the big screen with films such as Samson and Delilah and The Sapphires, but until now small-screen indigenous drama had existed on the margins. |
| "When I got to the ABC I set out to tackle television and part of that strategy was to develop skills in the indigenous film-making sector so they can cross over on to the small screen," she said. | "When I got to the ABC I set out to tackle television and part of that strategy was to develop skills in the indigenous film-making sector so they can cross over on to the small screen," she said. |
| With a budget of $5m a year, one of her first emails was to the Liverpudlian screenwriter Jimmy McGovern, of Cracker fame. He worked intensively with Aboriginal writers over several months, helping them to shape their stories for Redfern Now. | With a budget of $5m a year, one of her first emails was to the Liverpudlian screenwriter Jimmy McGovern, of Cracker fame. He worked intensively with Aboriginal writers over several months, helping them to shape their stories for Redfern Now. |
| "It was some of the most rewarding work I've ever done," McGovern told Fairfax Media. "The end product is very important, but the process is equally so. If people don't come out of this having learned a great deal, then we've failed." | "It was some of the most rewarding work I've ever done," McGovern told Fairfax Media. "The end product is very important, but the process is equally so. If people don't come out of this having learned a great deal, then we've failed." |
| Riley said she approached McGovern partly because she thought he had a good grasp of the issues affecting working-class communities and people on the margins. "His Scouser sense of humour is also pretty close to our indigenous sense of humour, where you laugh through adversity because if you don't, you end up crying," she said. | Riley said she approached McGovern partly because she thought he had a good grasp of the issues affecting working-class communities and people on the margins. "His Scouser sense of humour is also pretty close to our indigenous sense of humour, where you laugh through adversity because if you don't, you end up crying," she said. |
| By all accounts, Redfern Now, is as hard-hitting as anything McGovern has been involved in before. Episodes deal with mental health, fractured families and the hardships of inner-city life. It features many previously unknown actors as well as some of Australia's best-known Aboriginal stars. | By all accounts, Redfern Now, is as hard-hitting as anything McGovern has been involved in before. Episodes deal with mental health, fractured families and the hardships of inner-city life. It features many previously unknown actors as well as some of Australia's best-known Aboriginal stars. |
| Deborah Mailman, who found international fame in The Sapphires and who plays the lead role in one episode of Redfern Now, said the drama would give mainstream Australia an insight into Aboriginal communities not seen before. | Deborah Mailman, who found international fame in The Sapphires and who plays the lead role in one episode of Redfern Now, said the drama would give mainstream Australia an insight into Aboriginal communities not seen before. |
| "When you have indigenous writers, directors and actors, it means you can be uncompromising and complex with your stories and characters because you're giving it insight that doesn't often come from outside a community," she said. "It's coming from somewhere unseen and that makes it powerful drama. We hope people will come away from it with much more understanding and insight into who we are and into our stories." | "When you have indigenous writers, directors and actors, it means you can be uncompromising and complex with your stories and characters because you're giving it insight that doesn't often come from outside a community," she said. "It's coming from somewhere unseen and that makes it powerful drama. We hope people will come away from it with much more understanding and insight into who we are and into our stories." |
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