Audiences will follow Indigenous police officers and cadets attempting to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration in upcoming NITV documentary series Our Law.
The channel has taken the six-part Pink Pepper and Periscope Pictures project to full series commission, building upon the standalone half-hour released last year, set in Australia’s first and only Indigenous-run police station.
Produced Taryne Laffar, Sam Bodhi Field, Darren Dale and Jacob Hickey, the WA-set series explores efforts to repair relationships between Indigenous people and police, while giving voice to the communities being policed. Perun Bonser is series director.
Principal production investment from Screen Australia, in association with NITV, as well as Screenwest and Lotterywest.
“It is with relief, excitement, responsibility and pride that I wish to say, to be working with and for so many Indigenous Traditional Owners and Communities around Western Australia – this is for you,” said Laffar.
“Our Law not only shines a light on the policing of Aboriginal Peoples in WA, through the lens of Aboriginal police officers and the Indigenous Peoples and Communities they police, but is providing solutions based contemporary evidence when looking at the historical and contemporary issues of relations between Indigenous Peoples and the WA Police.”
Joining Our Law on the NITV documentary slate for 2022 is Larapinta, about its namesake, the Larapinta or Finke River.
Produced by Michaela Perske and Mitchell Stanley and directed by Gary Hamaguchi, the series will be hosted by Talia Liddle, a proud Arrernte, Luritja and Pertame woman, who returns to her country along Larapinta. Along the way she will meet local characters, scientists, rangers, traditional owners, artists, historians, archaeologists and palaeontologists all of whom will bring knowledge and stories of the river that runs through Central Australia.
A Purskey Productions and No Coincidence Media production, it has received principal production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest, and support from Goolari Media and Screen NSW.
In a joint statement, Perske and Mitchell said they were excited to share the river’s history from all angles.
“We’re taught about the Nile and the Amazon yet few people know about Central Australia’s lifeline and artery. Years of mistreatment has been detrimental to the entire ecosystem, but local Indigenous knowledge may just be the key to rejuvenating this natural wonder,” the producers said.
NITV head of commissioning and programming Kyas Sheriff said it was committed to developing First Nation’s stories and producing premium factual content.
“We are thrilled to bring Larapinta and Our Law to audiences across Australia – that are in the zeitgeist and warrant telling. Stories of Country, protecting our natural environment and the ongoing solutions from an Indigenous perspective on incarceration.
“We, as a channel, are honoured to share these stories with all Australians, and look forward to both programs premiering in 2022.”