Netflix has struck a preemptive deal for global rights to "2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback," an Australian docuseries set to have its world premiere Sept. 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of TIFF's Primetime strand.
The four-part series examines the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker by Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe in the remote community of Yuendumu, tracing how the 2.6 seconds between the first shot and the last reshaped the lives of those involved and fueled national debate in Australia.
The project marks the directorial debut of Darren Dale, who draws on archival footage, courtroom testimony and intimate interviews with both families to piece together the case from multiple vantage points.
Dale and Jacob Hickey produced the series for Blackfella Films. It was co-commissioned by SBS and NITV, with significant backing from Screen Australia's First Nations department and Screen NSW, and was produced in association with All3Media International.
The series follows Dale's earlier work, including his 2012 production "The Tall Man," which centered on the death of an Aboriginal man in police custody on Palm Island, and his AACTA-winning drama "Total Control," which also debuted in TIFF's Primetime strand in 2019.
Geoff Macnaughton, TIFF's VP of market programming and theatrical, said the festival's international programmer Jason Ryle discovered "2.6 Seconds" over the summer. "Primetime introduces audiences to the best in global, episodic storytelling," Macnaughton said. "We've programmed other Blackfella Films productions at TIFF, including 'Total Control' in 2019, which went on to win best TV drama at the AACTA Awards. We're excited to see how audiences respond to '2.6 Seconds' this September."
Variety spoke with Dale about making the series and what he hopes international audiences take away from it.
Photo: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
