Concurrent to the massive eruption of Black Lives Matters protests that enveloped every end of Australia’s coasts – the crucial ripples of the on-going worldwide fallout resulting from George Floyd’s tragic murder in the United States – Cornel Ozies’ prescient and perceptive documentary Our Law is having its world premiere at the digital edition of this year’s Sydney Film Festival, the latest endeavour from the prolific producer Taryne Laffar.
After more than a decade producing, writing, directing, and casting a variety of Australian films, documentaries, web series and television series, Laffar (AKA Pinky) is launching her own production company PiNK PEPPER. PiNK PEPPER will specialise in the development and production of Indigenous and diverse content, and its debut project, Our Law, premieres tonight on Karla Grants Presents on NITV at 8.30pm (For Australian viewers).
On the occasion of the launch of PiNK PEPPER, I had the chance to talk with Taryne Laffar about the creation of her production company, her background in casting and the production company’s major debut, the documentary Our Law.
Alex Lines for Film Inquiry: In 2019, you were able to go on a Producer’s Attachment on Season 2 of Mystery Road, what were the most significant lessons you learned from that experience?
Taryne Laffar: Yes, I was very lucky and am grateful for my Attachment with Greer Simpkin of Bunya Productions, one of the remarkable Producers of the series. I was also fortunate to have been attached to David Jowsey of Bunya Productions on Mad Bastards about a decade back too.
When working on high-end drama in regional and remote Australia it is essential to have not only an experienced team but one that can also endure the conditions and demands of both the work and Country. Bunya is exceptional at bringing these exceptional and specialised people together and do so with definite calm, and care, and a deliberate and satisfying assurance felt by all cast and crew. As a Producer, you want your cast and crew to be supremely proud of the intense and hard work they do, and the project at large from the beginning to end, Bunya managed this.
How do you feel that your background in casting has impacted your work as a producer?
Taryne Laffar: I was privileged enough to come up through the film & television industry through Extras Casting. Over the years, in this role, I have created working relationships with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people covering the state of Western Australia from the desert to the sea. These connections serve me well as a Producer these days. Working with both established and brand-new Indigenous talent is also extremely rewarding!
Representation on screen is political. I also advocate for increased representation of women, people of colour, the LGBTQI+ community and people with disabilities on our screens. It is about balancing the scales. Producing allows me to address this from the top down.
With Our Law, how did you initially get involved and how did you decide on this particular story?
Taryne Laffar: I was at AIDC 2019 and bumped into WA filmmaker, Sam Bodhi Field. He had recently directed SBS documentary Behind The Blue Line, covering multicultural WA Police precinct in the Perth metro area and during his work on this film he became aware of the first Indigenous run police facility in Australia. He mentioned it to me and before he had finished his sentence, I said I am in – we started to develop Our Law two weeks later.
Could you talk about the people that you focused on and what appealed to you about each of them?
Taryne Laffar: As an Indigenous woman, I seek the guidance of a traditional owner and woman wherever I am working. I was already aware of the wonderful Warakurna Elder Ms. Daisy Ward, through work I did with FTI’s Indigenous Community Stories, so I opened up the lines of communication with her as soon as I could. Daisy is exciting to be around, super fun, joyful, cheeky, and very kind. As is Ms. Nancy Jackson, who is often seen on screen with Ms. Daisy in the documentary. Their relationship revealing the importance for Daisy to both include and refer to her Elders was captured during the filming of Our Law.
I must mention that we worked closely with Uncle Russell Sheppard during our development phase. He is an important Warakurna Elder and boss and is the Chairman of the Warakurna Council. However, he was in sorry business (strict grieving period) during the production of Our Law. We then had the privilege and pleasure of working with the very special Warakurna Elder Bernard Newberry, whom we see on screen. He gently and kindly took time and great effort to reveal his deep knowledge (and pride) of the important language borders of the surrounding areas of Warakurna.
Last but not least, our exemplary talent in Senior Sergeant Revis Ryder and Sergeant Wendy Kelly. Both Western Australian Police Officers who were based at Warakurna, the only Indigenous Run Police Station in Australia. I never thought I would be friends with real police officers especially after producing the ultra-naughty web series KGB!
Meeting and working with Senior Sergeant Revis Ryder (and his wife Donelle Merritt) and Sergeant Wendy Kelly to bring their stories to screen has been an absolute career highlight. I feel extremely grateful that Revis and Wendy are in the world and doing what they do, and even more so, to be able to shine a light on their superb hard work. Kudos and deep respect to both.
Without the trust and generosity of the Warakurna Community, the elders on-screen, and Revis and Wendy, we would not have had the honour to work together to reveal this unique and working relationship. Working with these wonderful people is soul food and we are entirely lucky to have been able to not only spend time with them but to capture the wonderful Warakurna Community working with their local police is an important revelation that Australia needs to pay attention to!
When working on documentaries like these, can you describe the logistics when filming in remote communities?
Taryne Laffar: Big distances from airports, lack of phone service and internet connections, the absolute importance of refuelling, expensive everything, cost of freight, lack of accommodation, language barriers and most people are not on the clock tend to be the biggest issues when working in remote Australia. It certainly is challenging but also it is great food for thought on how we make films.
Sometimes slowing down and giving space, getting to know people better, going with the flow but always being ready is the only effective approach. This is a huge part of the appeal for me personally. Frankly, I struggle with city traffic more than any other filmmaking humbug.
With the film’s succinct 27 minute runtime, were there any other stories that were lost in the editing process?
Taryne Laffar: As with all production and particularly with documentary, much story is not able to be included but Sam Bodhi Field (my co-Producer), Cornel Ozies (Writer/Director), our Editor Jeremy Thomson and I felt that we successfully brought to light the real heart and soul of what is happening in Warakurna.
With the film’s significantly timely release, amidst the anti-racism protests that have erupted around the globe, what do you hope that audiences, both Australian and International, will take away from Our Law?
Taryne Laffar: I sincerely hope audiences in Australia and abroad truly realise both through the documentary and through the global anti-racism protests that institutional racism is real. Our Law talks to the reality that there has been a continuous lack of respect for Indigenous peoples and their lore, language, and culture until now.
Warakurna Community and WA Police, and its officers Senior Sergeant Revis Ryder and Sergeant Wendy Kelly have set a striking precedent. And it is simple. You can’t effectively police if you can’t communicate, and one can’t expect respect if respect is never shown.
Both Our Law and KGB, the ABC short series that you recently produced, each hold thematic prominence of resolving the tensions between the police and Aboriginal communities through establishing and cultivating real human connections – Do you see the Warakurna station, and their attempts at compassionate communication, as a sign of a progressive future for such intentions?
I feel that my work as a Producer is primarily about sharing Indigenous people’s stories and talents with the world. In order to survive tens of thousands of years, Indigenous peoples know some things about some things. Understanding that real human connections are instrumental to one’s place in the world is inherent across Indigenous Australia.
Of course, much has shifted over the last 232 years but connection, autonomy, proportion, and balance are Indigenous concepts – there is so much to for mainstream Australia to respect, to learn, to embrace in respect to Aboriginal Australia. In regards to Our Law and Warakurna, we are merely shining a light on this prevalent mentality shared across much of contemporary Indigenous Australia.
How was the process of launching PiNK PEPPER this year with the drastic social changes that have been occurring?
It has been a truly gruelling time for PiNK PEPPER with all of the changes afoot in the world and an ever-growing ambition to thrive in the business. Fortunately, big change is something I do really well! PiNK PEPPER’s ongoing success in 2020 and beyond is a primary focus for me. In order to create world-class screen content, I want to work with other hard-working people, so I am extremely happy to announce that Ms. Ali MacGregor has recently come on board at PiNK PEPPER as my new Producer’s Assistant.
Can you tell us about some of PiNK PEPPER’s upcoming productions?
PiNK PEPPER is proud to have secured development funding for four projects already! On my slate, I currently have a scripted drama series, a scripted comedy series, a scripted anthology series, and a documentary series.
Tata Detective introduces feisty and gregarious Indigenous-gallery-owner-turned-culture-detective, Muriel Hunter. She uses her wit, charm, and influence to take down the underbelly of the art world in her Kimberleys homeland – finding herself caught between fighting for justice and protecting her family.
Old Mate is a 47,000-year-old Indigenous Australian superhero, played by Clarence Ryan. Our series will show audiences a glimpse at modern Australia through the eyes of the nation’s oldest man, who has literally seen it all.
Red is an 8-part scripted anthology series I’m developing alongside Broome-based producer, Jodie Bell, and eight Western Australian Indigenous female writer/directors. Red will follow the innovative format developed by New Zealand producers Kerry Warkia and Kiel McNaughton with their films Waru and Vai, which successfully launched Maori and Pacific filmmakers internationally. The anthology of eight short films will each explore the impact of ‘missing Indigenous women’ from a Western Australian female Aboriginal perspective and will combine to form an 80-minute feature film.
I’m also grateful to announce that Sam Bodhi Field of Periscope Pictures and I are in development for Our Law: The Series, in which we are covering the state of Western Australia and completely open up the conversation and our understanding of Indigenous Police Officers and the Indigenous communities and peoples that they police.
Film Inquiry thanks Taryne Laffar for taking the time to talk with us.
Our Law is set to premiere on NITV as part of Karla Grant Presents at 8.30pm on Monday 22 June 2020.
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