Looking Black
Looking Black explores the impact of Indigenous storytelling at the ABC, and how it has created deep and honest conversations about the experience of First Nations journalists, storytellers, and presenters.
Summary
Looking Black is a thoughtful documentary about the growing presence and influence of Indigenous voices within the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Rather than focusing on a single protagonist, the film brings together First Nations journalists, presenters, producers, and storytellers whose work has helped reshape how Indigenous lives and histories are represented on national television and radio. Through their reflections and professional experiences, the documentary examines what it means to tell Indigenous stories within a major mainstream institution. The contributors discuss the responsibilities that come with representing their communities, the pressures of working in an industry shaped by non-Indigenous perspectives, and the importance of being able to speak with cultural authority. Their accounts also reveal how Indigenous media makers have challenged familiar stereotypes and encouraged audiences to engage with First Nations history and contemporary life in more honest ways. At its center, Looking Black is about storytelling as a form of cultural power. It considers how visibility can foster recognition and pride, while also acknowledging the emotional and political weight carried by those who are asked to explain their communities to a wider public. The film explores questions of identity, institutional change, representation, and the relationship between journalism and cultural responsibility. By emphasizing conversation and personal testimony, Looking Black presents the ABC as both a platform for progress and a place where long-standing tensions have had to be confronted. The result is an engaging, often candid portrait of Indigenous broadcasting and the people working to make Australian media more inclusive, truthful, and accountable.
