When filmmaker Kimberley Benjamin stepped into the emergency department at Cairns Hospital to begin filming Our Medicine, she was already feeling the weight of what this story meant.
“It was my first day, and a man came in with a machete wound to his arm,” she remembers.
“And I thought, 'How am I going to do this?' I can’t even look at blood.”
But what the Yawuru, Bardi and Kija young woman saw in that hospital — and across the many communities she visited while directing the six-part documentary series — was far more powerful than anything she expected.
“I got to witness our mob doing incredible, life-saving work. Not just in hospitals, but in communities, on Country, through ceremony, through bush medicine.
"And it reminded me — we’ve always had medicine.”
Our Medicine is, at its heart, a love letter to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, both those in scrubs and those in the bush.
It captures the quiet strength of First Nations doctors, nurses, paramedics, liaison officers, and traditional healers who are not just treating patients — they’re transforming the system from the inside out.
For Benjamin, who grew up understanding health through community, not institutions, the series was deeply personal.
Kimberley Benjamin and Wunan Health professionals in the East Kimberley.
“But what I do know is how to listen. And what I heard, over and over again, was that cultural safety can be the difference between someone walking through a hospital door or not.”
The series moves between busy urban hospitals and remote communities, following the work of professionals who blend clinical training with cultural knowledge.
It also dives into traditional healing practices, like bush medicine and ceremonies that have been practised for generations.
“One of the most powerful moments for me was [the] naming ceremony on Karajarri Country,” says Benjamin.
“When a child is given their traditional name, they’re given strength.
"That name carries history, spirit, and identity. And that’s health too — even if there’s no Western word for it.”
Behind the camera, the production was led by a team of Blak women, including Benjamin’s longtime mentor Karla Hart and production manager Shari Hutchinson.
“Karla’s taught me how to do this work our way — the right way. And to be surrounded by mob who are as passionate as you are about telling these stories, that’s the real gift.”
Benjamin is clear: this series isn’t just about showcasing First Nations excellence. It’s about changing the narrative.
“We know the statistics. We live them,” she says.
“But this series is about flipping the script. It’s about showing the beauty, the brilliance, the strength of our people who are showing up every day — not just surviving, but leading.”
Whether in a clinic, hospital ward or cultural space, Our Medicine reminds viewers that healing comes in many forms — and that our people have always known the way.
Our Medicine premieres on Thursday 29 May at 7.30pm on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand.
