The Australian Wars is a 3 x 1 hour documentary series for SBS Television that tells story of Australia’s frontier conflicts. Delving into the archival record of Australia, it brings to our attention the major battles, military tactics and the historical figures who engaged in this land battle that swept the country over a hundred year period. These are the wars that established the new nation Australia. There are more than ten thousand monuments across the country that honour the war dead . But what of the bloody battles fought on our home soil, in our longest-running war that established the Australian nation? In this landmark three-part documentary series, filmmaker Rachel Perkins journeys across the country, to give voice to the story of The Australian Wars. And once given voice, it will change the narrative of our nation.
Rachel Perkins, a woman of the Arrernte and Kalkadoon nations, founded Australia’s premier First Nations production company Blackfella Films in 1992.
Rachel wrote, directed and co-produced (with Darren Dale) the landmark documentary series First Australians and the Australian Wars, both for SBS. Prior to that Rachel produced (with Ned Lander) the series Blood Brothers and directed one of the episodes Freedom Ride. She also directed the documentary Black Panther Woman.
In drama, Rachel has directed the feature films Radiance, One Night the Moon, the musical Bran Nue Dae and Jasper Jones as well as the telemovie Mabo. Rachel also directed three episodes and the telemovie of the landmark television drama series Redfern Now. She directed all six episodes of the critically acclaimed first seasons of Mystery Road and Total Control, both of which were awarded Best Television Drama series in their year of production.
