The Race begins
It was an emotional experience for me watching the first episode of the rebooted Race Around the World last night.
I felt stricken for the racers, remembering the noose of those 10-day deadlines, that sense that the story you’re chasing isn’t good enough, the logistical horrors, the sleeplessness, the leaden fear every mistake would be seen by everyone you knew and hundreds of thousands you didn’t; and last night the racers had to square up to the judges, cop the criticism square in the face and keep it together for the live record.
For mine, two of the films were truly excellent — Jayden’s ‘Family First’ about the dynamite fisherman and Elliot’s ‘Between War and Life’ about a Ukrainian cancer patient. All of the stories were in the spirit of the show, which relies on the possibility of disaster as much as anything else. Amongst the judges, Margaret Pomeranz went hard, possibly too hard, but she also said a lot of the things I was thinking. Safran was terrific, is terrific, just in the way he parses story and understands this format.
Most of all, I loved seeing the world in these short, eclectic personal documentaries, four minutes from corners of the planet we scarcely think about day to day. Yes, we’ve apparently all got phones and everyone is a content creator, but is this sort of storytelling really part of your Instagram or YouTube experience? Mine is largely about football highlights and an amazing washing bag that really whitens sneakers.
Last night’s episode finished with Mikaela’s story about a young Iñupiat mother /carer in the far north of Alaska, a quiet, moody peek inside the Arctic circle.
It was beautiful, even if the story was a little unfocused. It still gave me that ‘Race feeling’, a nostalgia, a sense that there are six billion stories out there and we are all capable of telling them, a gratitude that I had my moment of fortune with this show.
Good luck to Jayden, Kate, William, Elliott, Lucinda and Mikaela. I loved your first efforts. Zan, you were great too.
Congrats to the ABC for rebooting a truly original show.
La Paz, Bolivia, my first stop on Race Around the World, 1998.
My first story ‘The Child Inside’ was about children being in San Pedro Prison with parents due to a lack of state housing. The amazing world and cocaine economy of turn of the century San Pedro was eventually captured in Rusty Young’s bestselling book, ‘Marching Powder’ - a classic of the era.
Put your name (or your kids’) in my new picture book - The Elephant in the Room
If you commit to buying two or more copies of Laura Wood’s and my new picture book ‘The Elephant in the Room’ I’ll add your name (or your child or grandchild’s) to a thank you page. It doesn’t cost anything now - it’s a commitment to two books when the it is released later in 2026.
You don’t have to pay now. I’m collecting pre-commitments on the form attached. When the book with your name (or your kids’) printed in it is ready to post, I’ll contact you for payment.
Many thanks!
Tony
