When The War Is Over on ABC and ABC iview S1E5 – A country music hit, a forgotten 1880s sketchbook and a monologue that went viral expose wars fought on Australian soil, and an ongoing culture of resistance.
The Australian Wars stretched from 1788 to around 1930 and were fought between colonists and First Nations people, claiming an estimated 100,000 Aboriginal lives. Many Australians now accept that violence was a part of colonisation, but lesser known is just how much First Nations people fought back.
Beginning with a country music ode to a Wiradjuri warrior, and going behind the scenes of a groundbreaking 2020 monologue that racked up more than three million views, Rachel explores art’s power to expose aspects of the past that official histories have sought to erase.
When the War is Over on ABC and ABC iview – Tuesday 16 December at 8.00pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
When The War Is Over on ABC and ABC iview S1E5
About the Show
When The War Is Over on ABC puts the power of art to the ultimate test – Acclaimed actor and art enthusiast Rachel Griffiths returns to the ABC in When The War Is Over, a powerful new series that explores how art and pop culture help us understand and heal from war, premiering Tuesday 18 November at 8pm with all episodes available to stream the same day on ABC iview.
Across five episodes, Rachel explores the game-changing songs, iconic paintings, blockbuster films, best-selling books, jaw-dropping artworks and spine-tingling performances that have helped transform Australians’ understanding of our five major wars: World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Australian Wars.
A descendent of WWI veterans at Gallipoli, Rachel visits key battlegrounds across the globe – in Türkiye, Vietnam and Thailand.
Back in Australia, she meets artists, veterans, curators and historians, exploring the unheralded role of art in war, both in the midst of battle and for the generations that follow. From Jimmy Barnes belting out Khe Sanh to Ben Quilty’s haunting portraits of Afghanistan war veterans, this is a richly layered series about the real-world impact of art on all of us, on both a personal and national level.
When The War Is Over is a provocative and moving examination of how art challenges our myths, memorialises trauma, and redefines heroism, and importantly, the series confronts the legacy of the Australian Wars, an often-overlooked chapter in Australia’s war history.
When The War Is Over:
- Episode One: Gallipoli & WWI
- Episode Two: Vietnam War
- Episode Three: Afghanistan War
- Episode Four: Changi – WWII
- Episode Five: The Australian Wars
Always free and Always entertaining, catch up on similar arts and culture docuseries now on ABC iview.
PRODUCTION CREDITS Commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media, financed by the ABC and Screen Australia with development funding from Screen NSW. Series Director: Sophie Meyrick.
Series Producer: Ili Bare. Executive Producers: Dan Goldberg, Rachel Griffiths, Craig Graham. ABC Commissioning Editor: Rachel Robinson. ABC Head of Arts, Music & Events: Kath Earle. Host: Rachel Griffiths.
Media Release – ABC
