Premise

In 2023, Director Jennifer 'JP' Piper and Cinematographer Dasha Melnik created the short documentary Russian Spy, for Screenwest and WA State Library’s WA Reflections initiative. The film follows Russian-Australian Melnik as she learns of a series of secret, coded telegrams sent from the British Empire to put Albany on high alert of possible Russian Invasion, then follows the trail to uncover a story of fear, suspicion and otherness, examining her own experience of these things as a Russian-Australian woman living at a time when the War in Ukraine dominates the news cycle. 

In Spies Among Us, Piper and Melnik explore stories of intrigue and suspicion at various times in Australia’s history, delving into political motivations and machinations of the day, but focussing on the very personal effect those strategies had on ‘ordinary’ people, sharing their own personal experience of the story today. 

The first season, Russian Spy, picks up where the short film leaves off, teasing out the wealth of story around this moment in time. From the British Colonial motivations behind the war alert, to the family legacy of a lightkeeper with eight kids, the logistics of walking from Albany to Perth in 1885, to the surprise appearance of Tarkovsky motifs throughout the Albany trip. All this through the lens of two personal experiences of isoltion –  one of growing up in one of the most isolated cities on earth, the other of moving to that same city from the other side of the planet.

Future seasons will see the pair collaborate with filmmakers of various cultural backgrounds, on similarly-fascinating ‘history mysteries’ and stories of suspicion from Australia’s past and how they influence our present.