Indigenous drama, new priority at ABC TV
The newly-appointed head of the ABC’s Indigenous department, Sally Riley, says there is no budget for her area just yet, but an Indigenous primetime drama series will be one of her first priorities.
“It’s an area that we haven’t explored, and something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, to get Indigenous faces on television,” Riley told Encore. “For the ABC this is big move into actually having dedicated funding for commissioning Indigenous filmmakers to make primetime content.”
Riley said the budget for the Indigenous department is yet to be finalised, but there will be funds allocated for commissioning material from independent filmmakers. These projects higher budget long-form documentaries, as well as comedy series.
“Narrative comedy is something we could do really well. Look at Bran Nue Dae; there’s a great sense of humour in the Indigenous community, and we have great comedians around,” said Riley.
Good for Sally Riley who has helped so many filmmakers over the years. Perhaps at ABC she could take an interest in the 1955 Sydney film CAPTAIN THUNDERBOLT — there is a fascinating indigenous thread to that saga.