SBS adds colour to Australian history

Australia in Colour uses colourised archive footage

Australian pubcaster SBS has commissioned a new documentary series about the history of the country which transforms black and white archive footage into colour for the first time.

Four-parter Australia in Colour will explore the nation’s story and look at how its past shaped the country it has become.

Australian-English actor Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Captain America: The First Avenger) will narrate the show, which aims to reflect Australia’s character, attitudes, politics and struggle to value its Indigenous and multicultural past.

The series is produced for SBS by local prodco Stranger Than Fiction Films with funding from Screen Australia and Create NSW.

It is made in association with the National Film and Sound Archive and UK indie Arrow Media, which produced America in Color for US cablenet Smithsonian Channel, on which the series is based.

Australia in Colour premieres on March 6 and will be available to stream after broadcast via VoD service SBS On Demand.