TRAILER
SYNOPSIS
Child protection is everybody’s business. It’s the slogan we hear with familiar regularity in community service announcements. Yet the only time the public hears about the system that protects our most vulnerable children is when something goes terribly wrong.
THE DEPARTMENT is a feature documentary which takes us inside the never-before-seen child protection system at work in NSW. Filmed in an observational style, it follows caseworkers across the state as they navigate the complexities of keeping children safe in families experiencing domestic violence, addiction, poverty, mental health issues and intergenerational trauma. More >
Told through the eyes of the caseworkers, complemented by the authentic voices of the families themselves, each story allows us to explore a different facet of child protection, revealing the complexity, bravery and raw emotion experienced in the lives of these people every day.
Directed & Filmed by
SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
Produced by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
KATE HODGES, MAJHID HEATH and HAYLEY B. JOHNSON
Editors
MATHEW EVANS and SALLY FRYER
Composer
HELENA CZAJKA
Sound Design
WES CHEW
Sound Recordists
RICHARD BOXHALL, PHILIP MYERS and SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Edit Assistant
MEGAN FINLAY
Edit Assistant Placement supported by SBS Diversity Talent Escalator Program
Production Office Manager
ALISHA MANNING
Digital Manager
RHYS MORRIS
SYNOPSIS
Child protection is everybody’s business. It’s the slogan we hear with familiar regularity in community service announcements. Yet the only time the public hears about the system that protects our most vulnerable children is when something goes terribly wrong.
THE DEPARTMENT is a feature documentary which takes us inside the never-before-seen child protection system at work in NSW. Filmed in an observational style, it follows caseworkers across the state as they navigate the complexities of keeping children safe in families experiencing domestic violence, addiction, poverty, mental health issues and intergenerational trauma. More >
Told through the eyes of the caseworkers, complemented by the authentic voices of the families themselves, each story allows us to explore a different facet of child protection, revealing the complexity, bravery and raw emotion experienced in the lives of these people every day.
Directed & Filmed by
SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
Produced by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
KATE HODGES, MAJHID HEATH and HAYLEY B. JOHNSON
Editors
MATHEW EVANS and SALLY FRYER
Composer
HELENA CZAJKA
Sound Design
WES CHEW
Sound Recordists
RICHARD BOXHALL, PHILIP MYERS and SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Edit Assistant
MEGAN FINLAY
Edit Assistant Placement supported by SBS Diversity Talent Escalator Program
Production Office Manager
ALISHA MANNING
Digital Manager
RHYS MORRIS
SYNOPSIS
Child protection is everybody’s business. It’s the slogan we hear with familiar regularity in community service announcements. Yet the only time the public hears about the system that protects our most vulnerable children is when something goes terribly wrong.
THE DEPARTMENT is a feature documentary which takes us inside the never-before-seen child protection system at work in NSW. Filmed in an observational style, it follows caseworkers across the state as they navigate the complexities of keeping children safe in families experiencing domestic violence, addiction, poverty, mental health issues and intergenerational trauma. More >
Told through the eyes of the caseworkers, complemented by the authentic voices of the families themselves, each story allows us to explore a different facet of child protection, revealing the complexity, bravery and raw emotion experienced in the lives of these people every day.
Directed & Filmed by
SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Produced by
MARY MACRAE
Produced by
IAN DARLING
Produced by
KATE HODGES, MAJHID HEATH and HAYLEY B. JOHNSON
Editors
MATHEW EVANS and SALLY FRYER
Composer
HELENA CZAJKA
Sound Design
WES CHEW
Sound Recordists
RICHARD BOXHALL, PHILIP MYERS and SASCHA ETTINGER EPSTEIN
Edit Assistant
MEGAN FINLAY
Edit Assistant Placement supported by SBS Diversity Talent Escalator Program
Production Office Manager
ALISHA MANNING
Digital Manager
RHYS MORRIS
