2026 Nominees

Mark Coles Smith for "The Kimberley"

Production Company: Wild Pacific Media

Produced for: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Love Nature, Arte France and PBS

Executive Producer (Production Company): Electra Manikakis and Nick Robinson

Executive Producer (network/platform): N/A

Country or Territory where first released: Australia

Synopsis:

Mark is a proud Nyikina man. With a gift for storytelling, he works across several performing arts genres, as an actor, writer, producer and sound designer. Mark’s early years were spent growing up along the length of the Martuwarra, listening to the voices of his family, who taught him what it means to belong to Country, how to listen to Country, and how to listen to your spirit; what Nyikina people call ‘liyan.’ He brought this deep understanding to this series about his home, which he also co-wrote and narrated.

On screen, Mark is magnetic, making our journey feel both epic and intimate as he guides us into his home. Writing the narration in his own voice allowed Mark to bring both authority and warmth to a read that ranged from traditional natural history to a more humorous twist on the genre. His authentic perspective makes for a natural history film unlike any other, in a genre that often ignores the deep ties of First Nations cultures to many of our planet’s landscapes.