Stateless (TV series)
Stateless | |
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Genre | Drama |
Created by |
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Written by |
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Directed by | |
Composer | Cornel Wilczek |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editors | Mark Atkin Martin Connor |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 1 March 2020 |
Stateless is an Australian television drama series launched on ABC TV on 1 March 2020. The six episodes were released on Netflix on 8 July 2020.
The series is partly inspired by the real-life story of Cornelia Rau, an Australian who was unlawfully detained under the Australian Government's mandatory detention program.
Synopsis
[edit]The series centres on four strangers in an immigration detention centre in the Australian desert: an airline hostess escaping a suburban cult, an Afghan refugee fleeing persecution, a young Australian father escaping a dead-end job and a bureaucrat caught up in a national scandal. When their lives intersect they are pushed to the brink of sanity, yet unlikely and profound emotional connections are made amongst the group.[1]
After the sixth and final episode, the epilogue states the program was based upon true stories about Australian immigration detention.
Cast
[edit]- Yvonne Strahovski as Sofie Werner, a German-Australian flight attendant who struggles with mental health issues, based on Cornelia Rau
- Marta Dusseldorp as Margot Werner, Sofie’s responsible older sister
- Asher Keddie as Clare Kowitz, a representative of the Department of Immigration Management and Multicultural Affairs (DIMMA, based on DIMIA)
- Sarah Peirse as Assistant Secretary Genevieve Mundy, Clare’s superior at DIMMA in Canberra
- Dan Spielman as David Meakin, a journalist reporting on the Australian immigration policy and its effects
- Fayssal Bazzi as Ahmad Ameer, a refugee from Afghanistan
- Soraya Heidari as Mina, Ameer’s eldest daughter
- Jai Courtney as Off. Cameron ‘Cam’ Sandford, a new officer at Barton Immigration Detention Centre
- Maria Angelico as Angie Sandford, Cam’s wife
- Kate Box as Janice Sandford, Cam’s older sister who is critical of the Australian immigration policy
- Darren Gilshenan as Brian Ashworth, the general manager of Barton Immigration Detention Centre
- Rachel House as Off. Harriet Tawake, the cruel coordinator of the officers at Barton Immigration Detention Centre
- Clarence Ryan as Off. Sullivan, a close friend of Cam’s and a fellow officer at Barton Immigration Detention Centre
- Rose Riley as Off. Sharee Burton, a young officer at Barton Immigration Detention Centre
- Dominic West as Gordon Masters, co-founder of GOPA, based on Ken Dyers of Kenja Communication
- Cate Blanchett as Pat Masters, co-founder of GOPA, based on Jan Hamilton of Kenja Communication
- Claude Jabbour as Farid, an Arab refugee who befriends Ameer before ending up at Barton
- Kwame N. Kamara as Mosi, an African regufee who befriends Ameer before ending up at Barton
- Phoenix Raei as Javad Shahrokh, one of the refugees at Barton, who is separated from his family
- Helana Sawires as Rosna, a Kurdish refugee at Barton
Episodes
[edit]No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [2] | Australia viewers |
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1 | "The Circumstances in Which They Come" | Emma Freeman | Elise McCredie | 1 March 2020 | 441,000[3]
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2 | "Incognita" | Emma Freeman | Elise McCredie | 8 March 2020 | 363,000[4] |
3 | "The Right Thing" | Emma Freeman | Belinda Chayko | 15 March 2020 | 390,000[5] |
4 | "Run Sofie Run" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | Elise McCredie | 22 March 2020 | 430,000[6] |
5 | "Panis Angelicus" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | Belinda Chayko | 29 March 2020 | 409,000[7] |
6 | "The Seventh Circle" | Jocelyn Moorhouse | Elise McCredie | 5 April 2020 | 469,000[8] |
Production
[edit]The series is partly inspired by the real-life story of Cornelia Rau, an Australian who was unlawfully detained under the Australian Government's mandatory detention program.[9]
Blanchett says that the title "refers to statelessness in a more poetic sense, not in a legal, physical sense. It's more about identity and the loss of people's identity when they are faced with long-term detention, when they become a number, when they are dislocated from markers in their life like home and culture, and separated from their families".[10]
The music for the series was composed by Cornel Wilczek[11]
Release
[edit]Stateless had its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020, in the new Series section, along with Mystery Road Series 2.[12][13]
The Australian television channel ABC premiered the series in Australia soon afterwards, on 1 March 2020.[14] Netflix released the series globally on 8 July 2020.[15][16][17]
Awards and nominations
[edit]The script for Episode 6 by Elise McCredie was shortlisted for the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting at the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.[18]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref(s) |
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2021 | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA Awards) | Best Telefeature, Mini Series or Short Run Series | Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie, Tony Ayres, Sheila Jayadev, Paul Ranford, Liz Watts, Andrew Upton | Won | [19] |
Best Screenplay in Television | Elise McCredie (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won | |||
Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | Fayssal Bazzi | Won | |||
Jai Courtney | Nominated | ||||
Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Yvonne Strahovski | Won | |||
Asher Keddie | Nominated | ||||
Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama | Darren Gilshenan | Won | |||
Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama | Cate Blanchett | Won | |||
Best Direction in Television | Emma Freeman | Won | |||
Jocelyn Moorehouse | Nominated | ||||
Best Cinematography in Television | Bonnie Elliott (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won | |||
Best Editing in Television | Mark Atkin (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won | |||
Martin Connor (for "The Seventh") | Nominated | ||||
Best Sound in Television | Tom Heuzenroeder, Pete Smith, Michael Darren, Des Kenneally (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won | |||
Best Original Music Score in Television | Cornel Wilczek (for "The Seventh") | Won | |||
Best Production Design in Television | Melinda Doring (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won | |||
Best Costume Design in Television | Mariot Kerr (for "The Circumstances in Which They Come") | Won |
References
[edit]- ^ Knox, David (15 May 2019). "All-star cast for ABC drama Stateless". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ "Stateless – Listings". Next Episode. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (2 March 2020). "Sunday 1 March 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (9 March 2020). "Sunday 8 March 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (16 March 2020). "Sunday 15 March 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (23 March 2020). "Sunday 22 March 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (30 March 2020). "Sunday 29 March 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (6 April 2020). "Sunday 5 April 2020". TV Tonight. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Keane, Daniel (1 March 2020). "Cornelia Rau, Australia's immigration wars and the true story behind TV drama Stateless". ABC News. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ Dray, Kayleigh (7 July 2020). "The troubling true story that inspired Netflix's Stateless". Stylist. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Stateless - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ Zhou, Debbie (27 February 2020). "'People are starting to wake up': Berlin film festival spotlights Australia's 'unfinished business'". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "World premieres for Stateless and Mystery Road at Berlin International Film Festival". ABC. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Knox, David (16 January 2020). "Airdate: Stateless". TV Tonight. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ "Stateless". Radiotimes. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Ravindran, Manori (25 February 2020). "Netflix Swoops In for Global Rights to Cate Blanchett Refugee Drama 'Stateless' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (25 February 2020). "'Stateless': Cate Blanchett Reveals Why TV Is The Perfect Medium For Her Netflix-Acquired Refugee Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- ^ "NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Aacta awards 2020: Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Ned Kelly gang vie for honours". the Guardian. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
External links
[edit]- 2020 Australian television series debuts
- Television shows set in South Australia
- Television shows filmed in Australia
- Television shows filmed in East Timor
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
- Television series by Matchbox Pictures
- Television series created by Tony Ayres
- Australian English-language television shows