First Contact (TV series)

First Contact
Genre	Reality television Documentary
Written by	Jacob Hickey
Directed by	Ronan Sharkey Dora Weekley
Presented by	Ray Martin
Narrated by	Hugo Weaving
Composer(s)	Matteo Zingales Russel Thornton
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producer(s)	Rachel Perkins
Producer(s)	Ronan Sharkey (Associate Producer) Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey
Cinematography	Nicola Daley Bonnie Elliott Micah Walker
Editor(s)	Steven Robinson ASE Mark AtkinASE
Running time	≥ 52 minutes 60 minutes (inc.adverts)
Production company(s)	Blackfella Films
Distributor	SBS
Release
Original network	SBS One
Audio format	Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Original release	18 November (2014-11-18) – 20 November 2014 (2014-11-20)
External links
Website

First Contact is a three-part Australian reality television documentary series that aired on SBS One, SBS Two and NITV. It documents the journey of six European Australians who are challenged over a period of 28 days about their pre-existing perceptions of Indigenous Australians.

Overview

First Contact shows some of the cultural divisions that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and highlights the lack of awareness many non-Indigenous Australians have about Indigenous Australians and the various different cultures and lifestyles they currently maintain. A stated premise is that 60% of European Australian have never had any contact with Indigenous people, a statistic that may explain the prevalence of the racist, unsympathetic and generally prejudicial attitudes that are often directed towards Indigenous Australians.

In making their 'first contact' with Indigenous Australia, the selected six participants are taken to Aboriginal communities both in the city and the country, and are even processed into a regional prison at Roebourne in Western Australia, where social problems are particularly acute, resulting in incarceration of large numbers of Indigenous Australians, often for quite minor offences. The relationships between Indigenous people and local police in Roebourne are notoriously poor.

Production

File:Marcus Lacey at Nyinyikay.JPG

Marcus Lacey in Nyinyikay in the Northern Territory

First Contact was filmed and set in New South Wales, home to the largest Indigenous Australian population of any state/territory, the Northern Territory, where Indigenous Australians make up a higher percentage of the population than in any other state or territory and Western Australia.

Discussion

After the series aired, First Contact was the topic of an Insight episode, hosted by Stan Grant and featuring a discussion involving many of the people who were involved in the show.

Series overview

No.	Original air	Consolidated Australian viewers (Mainland Capitals)
1	18 November 2014	508,000
2	19 November 2014	401,000
3	20 November 2014	452,000

The show is estimated to have had a cumulative reach of 1,847,000 Australian viewers.

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD release	DVD features
			Season premiere	Season finale	Region 4	+
	1	10	18 November 2014	20 November 2014	3 December 2014	Single Disc Running time: 156 minutes

Episodes

Season 1 (2014)

No.	Title	Directed by	Original air date
1	"Episode 1"	Ronan Sharkey and Dora Weekley	18 November 2014 (2014-11-18)
Six European Australians, Alice Lardner, Bo-Dean Steiler, Jasmine Johnston, Trent Giles, Sandy Clifford and Marcus Solomon assemble near Uluru in Central Australia, where they are informed by Ray Martin that they will be spending the next 28 days meeting with Aboriginal Australians in various locations around Australia, beginning with the Morgan family in Redfern, NSW. After spending time in Redfern and discovering that it now has one of the lowest crime rates in Sydney, they embark on the second stage of their journey which sees them visiting Nyinyikay, an Aboriginal homeland community in Yolngu country, Northern Territory. In Nyinyikay, they are hosted by Marcus Lacey and they are given the opportunity to hunt for turtles and mangrove worms.
2	"Episode 2"	Ronan Sharkey and Dora Weekley	19 November 2014 (2014-11-19)
The six participants are taken to Elcho Island, where the local Aboriginal people are living in some of the most deprived conditions in the western world. Up to thirty people live in each house and at the time of their visit, there were 600 unemployed people and only 20 job vacancies. After spending a night on the island, they are taken to Alice Springs, NT. Sandy, however, decides not to continue with the journey and she returns to her home. In Alice Springs, they visit the Yipirinya School, where students can speak and are taught in four different languages; Arrernte, Luritja, Warlpiri and English. Later, they have the opportunity to join the Tangentyere Council as they conduct their Night Patrol service, a service that gives assistance to drunk and vulnerable Australians.
3	"Episode 3"	Ronan Sharkey and Dora Weekley	20 November 2014 (2014-11-20)
The six are now taken to the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In Karratha, they visit Sharyn Derschow who is currently running a successful program that promotes cross cultural awareness. Following this, they are taken inland in the back of a prison van to Roebourne Regional Prison, where out of all the inmates, 90% are Aboriginal Australians. After being strip searched and outfitted in prison clothes, they are allowed to interact with some of the inmates. They discover that many of the inmates there are incarcerated for minor offences, often for driving while drunk or on a suspended licence, which is often necessary in order to obtain essential supplies that aren't available in the remote desert communities that many reside in. Finally, the six participants travel to the town of Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, WA where they meet a group of women who reveal that after their campaign to ban full strength alcohol in the area was successful, there has been a significant reduction in the amount of violent assaults, suicides and other societal issues. In Fitzroy Crossing, they also meet Tristan, a fifteen-year-old boy who suffers from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, just like one in every five children in the Fitzroy Valley area. Their journey comes to an end at Windjana Gorge where June Oscar AO performs a smoking ceremony.

Cast

(As themselves)

Host

• Ray Martin

Six Participants

• Alice Lardner
• Bo-Dene Steiler
• Jasmine Johnston
• Trent Giles
• Sandy Clifford
• Marcus Solomon

Major Indigenous Contributors

• Sharyn Derschow - Co-founder Linkidge Cross Communication Training Company
• Margaret Gudumurrkuwuy - Elcho Island Arts
• Marmingee Hand - School Teacher & Foster Carer for F.A.S.D children
• Marcus Lacey - Traditional Owner, Teacher & Tourist Business Operator
• Debra Maidment - Safe & Sober Support Service Program, Central Australia Aboriginal Congress
• Victor Morgan - Senior Educator, Education Centre Against Violence & Chair Link-Up NSW
• June Oscar AO - CEO Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre
• Emily Carter - Deputy CEO Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre
• Shane Phillips - CEO Tribal Warrior & Local Australian of the Year 2013
• Geraldine Stewart - Yipirinya School HIPPY Coordinator
• Tangentyere Council Night Patrol

External links

• First Contact SBS - Official Website
• SBS’s First Contact is the real ‘festering sore’ of the nation On The Conversation