First Contact.
SBS’s First Contact will return for a new season this November, hosted again by Ray Martin.
Reconciliation Australia has found that six out of 10 Australians have had little or no contact with the nation’s first people.
The first season of First Contact generated headlines and debate in 2014 when Martin took six Australians into Aboriginal Australia for the first time.
This year, Martin takes a group of six well-known Australians with diverse, deeply entrenched preconceptions and opinions about the nation’s Indigenous people on the same journey.
They include Natalie Imbruglia, former One Nation politician David Oldfield, Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, Tom Ballard, Former Miss Universe Australia Renae Ayris and Nicki Wendt.
The show has been produced by Blackfella Films (Deep Water, Redfern Now, Mabo) in association with Screen Australia, Film Victoria and SBS.
“First Contact season one gave Australians the chance to gain greater understanding and insight into one of our biggest social cohesion debates. Season two aims to once again get the nation talking and gives audiences the opportunity to delve deeper into this vital conversation. The challenges that the participants face, the moments that confront them, and the lessons they learn have never been more relevant for all Australians, and we are proud to be leading this discussion,” said SBS director of television and online content Marshall Heald.
Blackfella Films Executive Producer Darren Dale said: “In such politically charged times where division and race relations are dominating the headlines, it is more important than ever for us to reflect on who we are as Australians and consider what we want to be as a nation – First Contact pushes us to confront the questions.”
First Contact will broadcast simultaneously on SBS and NITV over three consecutive nights, and will be complemented by additional programming, stories and analysis across SBS’s online, radio and television network.
First Contact airs Tuesday November 29, November 30 and December 1 at 8.30pm.