Tamarind Tree Pictures and Ambience Entertainment’s 10-part children’s series Barrumbi Kids will debut on NITV November 18, 7.30pm.
First-time actors Nick Bonson and Caitlin Hordern lead the cast as two best friends, Tomias and Dahlia, growing up in a remote Northern Territory community. Through fishing, dancing and schooling, the children learn about themselves, each other and living in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures.
Also starring are Justine Clarke, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Frances Djulibing, Adrienne Pickering, Christopher Sommers, Sophie Emberson-Bain, Finn Treacy, Serene Yunupingu, Penelope Thomas, Stephen Mahy and Scott Hall.
The coming-of-age series, based on the books by Territory author Leonie Norrington, was filmed in Beswick (Wugularr), Barunga, Katherine and Bitter Springs on the lands of the Jawoyn, Dogoman, Wardaman and Mangarrayi peoples.
Danielle MacLean of Tamarind Tree Pictures, Monica O’Brien of Ambience Entertainment and Julia Morris produce.
Directors include Grant Brown and Justin Schneider, with director’s attachments Deborah Brown and Ismail Khan. Scripts were written by Maclean, Fin Edquist, David Woodhead, Julia Moriarty, Stephen Abbott, Warren Coleman and Shontell Leah Ketchell, with additional writing by Maclean, Woodhead and Schneider.
Major production investment in Barrumbi Kids comes via Screen Australia in association with NITV, Australian Children’s Television Foundation, Screen Territory, Screen Queensland and Screen NSW.