Making Australia’s first show starring a transgender kid

Writer-director Julie Kalceff talks about First Day, the groundbreaking children's TV series now showing on ABC ME.

Speaking on the phone from lockdown in Sydney, writer-director Julie Kalceff feels incredibly fortunate. Her four-part kids’ series First Day was shot in Adelaide in July last year, and premieres on ABC ME this week.

‘I really feel for all those people whose films were getting into festivals and now can’t screen, and all those productions that have shut down,’ she said. ‘We’re lucky it hasn’t affected us much, apart from having to do cast and crew screenings by Zoom. In fact, more kids will be at home now watching TV than they were before.’

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She was previously a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk