Productions

TV Documentary Series

I Was Actually There

What goes through your head when a bushfire of unprecedented scale, a tidal wave of flame, is hurtling towards you? How does it feel to lie on the floor of a cafe while a mass murderer shoots everyone around you? How do you keep your emotions in check during the high-stakes rescue mission of two miners trapped a kilometre underground?

I Was Actually There is an ABC documentary series that revisits defining moments in Australia’s recent history through the people who lived them. It’s not a recounting of events but a dive into the experience itself, the fear, the instincts, the split-second choices and what lingers long after.

Employing the team's unfiltered, up-close interviewing style, I Was Actually There assembles the recollections of witnesses, big and small, of people at the core of the action and others standing on the sidelines.

Along with carefully chosen archive footage, much of it unseen or previously overlooked, I Was Actually There weaves conversational fragments into cohesive narratives, bringing intense moments back to life. Each episode reveals new ways of seeing the past, challenging what we think we know.

History is usually told from a specific perspective, but the actual truth of any event is made up of overlapping, individual views. What you saw depends on where you were standing. History is personal.

Watch the series in Australia, click here. To watch the series internationally, click here

Were you there when Australian history happened?

Were at any of these events? Thank you!

Were you at any of these events?:

Tell us more about your experience::

Would like to suggest an event or question? Thank you!

What event would you like to see an episode on?:

What would you like to ask someone that was there?:

Release Date:

2024-ongoing

Director:

Kirk Docker

Series Producers:

Josh Schmidt
Loni Cooper

Cinematographer:

Aaron Smith

Line Producer:

Megan Nass

Created by:

Kirk Docker, Aaron Smith & Jon Casimir

TV Documentary Series

You Can’t Ask That

What would happen if you gave people the chance to ask society’s misunderstood the questions they were too embarrassed, too awkward and too scared to ask? What would happen if those stereotyped minorities were given the right to answer those questions with dignity and depth?

The answer is an exercise in stereotype-busting. You Can’t Ask That confronts prejudice and discrimination by offering genuine insight into the lives of people who live with labels. The series explores Muslims, ex-prisoners, people living with schizophrenia, fat people, suicide attempt survivors, people with down syndrome, sex workers, bogans, the polyamorous … you get the idea.

You Can’t Ask That is life-affirming, insightful, hilarious and refreshingly inappropriate television. But more importantly, it gives some of the most judged and least understood Australians the chance to be heard.

You Can’t Ask That is Australia's most successful television format, with 42 seasons broadcast across 12 countries in nine languages – including French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, Norwegian, Hebrew and Arabic – a testament to the power and flexibility of the format. To watch the original Australian series click here. To watch outside of Australia click here.

Release Date:

August 2016 to May 2022

Director:

Kirk Docker

Cinematographer:

Aaron Smith
Dave May

Executive Producer:

Frances O'Riordan
Lou Porter

Producers:

Josh Schmidt
Loni Cooper
Jess Cohen
Scott Mitchell
Pauline Ernesto

Editors:

Nick McDougall
Kenny Ang

Composer:

Andrew Sampford

Created by:

Kirk Docker, Aaron Smith & Jon Casimir