Touch the Sun (TV series)

Johnno is a deaf ten year old boy with good intentions who lives in Streeton, a small fishing town, during the 1950s. He spends a lot of his time alone by the water and playing at the beach.[1] The locals of the town who farm and fish don't understand him and look upon him as though he is a bit of a clown. Johnno's sister, Julie, is the only one who really cares and helps him out, but Julie has to leave home for the first time to go to boarding school and suddenly Johnno's life is uprooted. He also has a new teacher at school that is far less tolerant of his 'unusual' and 'disruptive' behaviour in the classroom as she puts it. As a result, Johnno gets expelled and his mother is left to educate him at home. This proves to be very challenging because she is already a working mother herself.

The only positive event happening in Johnno's life is the arrival of Tony, a solitary Italian fisherman without a penny to his name who cannot speak English.[1] Johnno sees a bit of himself in Tony and is consequently left feeling very betrayed when he believes Tony has violated the terms of their new friendship. Johnno unintentionally becomes tied up in a number of mishaps which pushes his mother to breaking point and she decides to send him to a 'special school'. But when Johnno hears about this plan he runs away, sailing to a nearby island with the intention of living solo away from the complex problems society brings. However, life on the island is harsh with exposure and dehydration taking their toll. He grows increasingly desperate for food and climbs a cliff, only to slip and fall into the dangerous surf. He washes ashore the isolated beach injured and in need of help. Back in Streeton, Johnno's lost presence is noticed and a search party begins, but Tony is the only one with any idea where Johnno might be. Tony ignores the instructions of the search organisers and heads for the island himself just in time to save Johnno. Tony and Johnno reconcile there and Johnno comes to realise running away from his problems doesn't help. He sets a new and more independent course for his future with Tony's help.

• Damien Walters (Johnno)
• Joe Petruzzi (Tony)
• John Waters (Frank)
• Rebecca Sykes (Julie)
• Michele Fawdon (Kathleen)
• Elspeth Ballantyne
• Vivienne Graves
• Sam Sowton
• Phoebe Salter
• Peter Green
• Henry Salter
• Grant Piro

In Adelaide, the premiere screening of Captain Johnno was held at the Academy Cinema on Thursday, 7 April 1988.[2] The film, which was introduced by the premier of South Australia, the Hon. John Bannon, MP, had been especially subtitled for the hearing impaired. Present at the screening were: the Managing Director of the South Australian Film Corporation, John Morris, AM; the writer of the film, Rob George; the producer, Jane Ballantyne; the director, Mario Andreacchio; the child stars of the film, Damien Walters (Johnno) and Rebecca Skyes (Julie); members of the film and television industry and the media; and members of the deaf community. The following morning a special screening of the film was held for hearing impaired children and their classmates, who included children from Damien Walters’ class. The film was received very enthusiastically.

In 1988 the Foundation won the most prestigious international television award for Captain Johnno as part of the Touch the Sun series.[7] This was the first time an Australian Children’s program won a coveted Emmy and only the second time an Emmy was awarded to an Australian program. Captain Johnno, one of the six films in the Touch the Sun series, was entered in the Children’s and Young People’s Section of the Awards which are presented by the International Council of the American National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences. At the Awards ceremony held in new York on 21 November, only five Emmys were presented after judges had viewed 198 entries from 48 countries.

Badge and Sam are cousins, and Badge has always felt daunted by Sam because he has spent time in the city and been exposed to a world Badge can only imagine having spent his whole life on a remote farm in the rugged southwest of Tasmania. However, the tables get turned once Sam's mother falls ill and his father is away working. Sam and his two younger sisters, Bron and Sheppie, are sent to live with Badge and his mum, Jessie. Sam has an arrogant disdain for the bush that gets on Badge's nerves, so he forms an alliance with Bron who is timid and fearful, but sensitive. However, at the same time, Badge begins to question his father's beloved wilderness and whether that is the kind of life he wants for himself when he hears of the glorified tales of the city.

One night the tension between Sam and Badge breaks and their feelings appear to be reflected in the violent weather occurring in the valley. By morning, they discover that Brindle, the family heifer, escaped into the dense bush and needs to be tracked down and recovered. The kids persuade Jessie to bring them with her on her trek through the mountainous Tasmanian wilderness to find Brindle.

En route they are led up into the valley to a dark and mysterious crag called Devil's Hill. They find tracks here which lets them know they're headed in the right direction, but the path is dangerous with tiger snakes and raging rivers. Supplies are limited and Jessie starts to think that they may have missed Brindle, so she backtracks and leaves the kids at their camping spot for the day. Shortly after Jessie leaves, the kids spot Brindle in the valley far below. The boys climb down towards Brindle, but Badge slips which frightens her away. Sam scolds Badge, but Badge decides to break camp and follow Brindle.

This new chase leads the kids into adventure and conflict and only by resolving their differences do they find a way to pool their talents and recapture Brindle. Not only do they end up finding Brindle, but also the lost herd that will enable Badge's parents to have a successful farm. Badge, Sam, Bron and Sheppie drive the herd home in triumph and meet up with Jessie along the way who is overjoyed with their findings.

Once they get home they are welcomed with more good news - Sam's mother has recovered and his father has arrived to take him home. To everyone's surprise, Sam asks his father if he can return to the farm next summer, and Badge decides he doesn't mind the idea of going to school with his cousins. Badge and Sam's rivalry turns to mutual respect.

• Cameron Atkins
• Peter Hehir
• Mary Haire
• John Flaus
• Alexander 'Matthew' Jacobs
• Emma Pugh
• Jane McArthur

The premiere screening of Devil’s Hill was introduced by The Hon. Peter Rae, MHA, the Tasmanian Minister for Education and the Arts, at the University of Tasmania on Wednesday, 13 April 1988.[2] Attending the screening were: Dr Patricia Edgar; Graeme Foster, the Tasmanian representative on the ACTF Board; Esben Storm, the director of Devil’s Hill; the child stars of the film, Alexander Jacobs, Cameron Atkins, Jane McArthur and Emma Pugh; crew members, educationalists; and the media.

Nicos and Sofia Georgialis are Greek-Australian siblings who live in a comfortable inner-city suburb and win the first prize in a national lottery.[8] To their amazement, they become the new owners of five hundred hectares of 'beautiful bushland' in Western Australia - 3,000 km from Melbourne which is home. The big win throws their lives into turmoil. Tensions in the family rise and Sofia breaks up with her boyfriend. Their grandfather, Christos, joins them on an all-expense paid for trip to visit the plot of land they've won in WA, which leaves the family nearly split in two. Sofia and their dad, Con, want to sell the land to purchase a new modern house for them all outside of the city, while Nicos and their mum, Helen, don't want to leave their current cozy home.

While the kids and their grandfather are on their trip to visit the site, Con agrees to sell the trees on the new land in order to get money to buy this new house he wants.[8] Nicos and Sofia are not aware of these plans their father has made and continue on their trip.

When they arrive they find it magical, but mysterious as well.[8] First, they get stopped by a barrier in the road, then the air gets let out of one of the car tyres, and they work out that someone is attempting to stop them. They continue their journey by foot and encounter an elderly lady pointing a 12-gauge shotgun at them. It turns out this elderly lady called Vera and her huge, mildly-retarded son, George, live on the land that they had been told they'd won. Initially the kids are terrified, but soon realise that Vera and George are harmless and vulnerable and that this land is their refuge.

Christos and the kids return to the hotel they are staying at in Perth and it is here that Sofia makes her decision with Nicos to tear up the agreement they had with the timber company because cutting down the trees on the land will get rid of the safety and seclusion that Vera and George have and need.[8] They also have a television interview on the 'Lucky Aussie Show' where they let the country know that they want the land to be left alone. The problem is that things have already gotten ahead of them back in Melbourne. Their dad has arranged for their current home to be auctioned the next day. Over the telephone Sofia confronts her father, but she gets nowhere, so she and Nicos must convince their grandfather to overcome his fear of flying in order to catch a plane to Melbourne in time to save their home.

After an entire night of persuasion Christos finally agrees to board the plane and they arrive in Melbourne just as the auction begins.[8] Urged on by the two kids, Christos outbids a determined buyer. When Sofia, Nicos and Christos walk through the door, Con is amazed, but he isn't upset. Con was beginning to have doubts about selling the family home himself and facing such opposition wasn't helping, so he is grateful that the kids subverted the auction. The family ends up reunited in their family home and the two kids have learned an important lesson that getting something for nothing can be very dangerous.

• Nicholas Hatjiandreau
• Vicki Serbos
• Alexis Anthopolous
• Con Laras
• Rena Frangioudakis
• Peter Felmingham
• Margaret Fort
• Bill McClusky
• Ken James
• Susanne Chapman

• Melbourne Real Estate Agents Greg Hocking and Andrew Stuart

Peter (a quiet boy), Margaret (the mayor's intelligent daughter) and Wayne (the town bully) live in a small town called Gamma in North Queensland and are brought together by their sudden interest in Latin after discovering strange inscriptions on a cave wall.[10] The high school Latin teacher is perplexed by the unlikely trio's interest in a dead language because he is unaware that they wish to learn what the inscriptions they found mean.

The three of them end up travelling further into the cavern and discover an authentic Roman boat that was hidden centuries ago by a Roman poet.[10] After some time, this secret of Peter and his friend's gets leaked and by morning the small town has turned into a hyped-up tourist destination. The children also find that their lives are turned upside down as they become celebrities, and this new status destroys any privacy that they had before. They are swept up in high pressure deals and witness their parents getting involved in crass commercial schemes. Before long, the three of them start to wish they'd never stumbled upon the boat at all.

While all the commotion occurs, they continue to translate the Latin scrolls they found which starts to reveal unsettling information - the boat is cursed.[10] It turns out that this Roman poet made a pact with the gods to ensure that anyone who came into contact with the boat would be punished. Peter, Margaret and Wayne start to think that what is happening to Gamma is the work of the curse. The kids devise a challenging plan to break the curse by fulfilling the Roman poet's pledge. With help from their Latin teacher, they throw the boat into the harbour where it vanishes into darkness and gets swallowed up by the sea under a sky filled with lightning.

The people of Gamma are shocked to their senses and come to realise the terrible impact this discovery has had on them.[10] Peter, Margaret and Wayne resume their old happy lives, but are much more appreciative of the benefits of being normal kids in a normal town.

• Clayton Williamson (Peter Driscoll)
• Kate McDonald (who is daughter of Garry McDonald) (Margaret Bainbridge)
• Emil Minty (Wayne Barbuto)
• Aaron Ferguson
• Paul Chubb (Mayor Leo Bainbridge)
• Lynnette Curran (Connie Driscoll)
• Dennis Miller (Maxie Barbuto)
• Amanda Muggleton (Mirla Malloy)
• Basil Clarke
• Bruce Venables

When Kate turns fourteen she feels like the luckiest girl in the world.[8] She has heaps of friends, a gorgeous home and very wealthy parents. her parents even gift her a seven meter yacht christened 'Princess Kate'. Shortly afterwards, Kate finds out she was adopted. At first she's angry, but later she is left feeling distraught. She starts to lose interest in all the things she once loved, including her schoolwork and practicing the piano. Kate wants to learn why she was never told of this before, and most importantly, she wants to find out who she really is. Her parents are hurt and upset by Kate's reaction, but she insists that she must find her 'real' parents.

Kate sets out to conduct her own research and with help from a volunteer group she is almost certain she's tracked down her 'real' mother's telephone number.[8] She gathers up the courage to call, but when she does she gets the phone slammed down in her ear and is left feeling absolutely crushed. Kate ends up being consumed by her own feelings, and fails to see how upset and worried she has made her adoptive parents. Soon the family's fortune begins to tumble and her father's business lands in trouble when his health starts failing.

Kate rocks up at her natural mother's home on impulse and without warning and meets a justifiably furious Glenys.[8] Glenys' husband had no idea that Kate even existed. Kate is permitted to stay until morning on the condition that she be introduced to Glenys' other children as their second cousin. Despite the awkward atmosphere, Kate and Glenys' daughter, May, get on very well instantly. They cannot believe how much they have in common, such as their shared love of music.

The next day when Kate returns home, she starts to understand that she has put an enormous amount of strain on her adoptive parents and she reassures them that her quest is over and that she has no intention of leaving them.[8] However, she does ask to let May come and stay with them when they will both be participating in a music competition in the near future.

A few months later the two families awkwardly meet, but this is a fulfilling moment for Kate.[8] By this stage Glenys and her husband have overcome the initial anger and shock of Kate returning into Glenys' world.

At the competition both Kate and May put on brilliant performances, but it is May who takes out the grand prize.[8] Initially Kate is disappointed she did not win herself, but her affection for her sister triumphs. Kate learns to value relationships over material possessions and suggests to her dad that they sell her new yacht in order to help solve the family's financial crisis.

• Justine Clarke as Kate
• Lyndel Rowe
• Alan Cassell
• Myra Noblet
• Shane Tickner
• Rebekah Elmaloglou
• Lorna Lesley
• Martin Sacks
• Mouche Phillips
• Claudia Karvan
• Beth Buchanan
• Annie Byron
• Nick Enright

Alice is a young, tough, independent child.[11] Her mum, Sue, works as a blackjack dealer in the Darwin casino and so Alice has learnt to take care of herself. She's a no-nonsense kind of girl, which often lands her in sparring arguments with her friend Mick, an Aboriginal boy who goes to the same school.

One day, Alice's father, Jack, reappears and wants to settle in with her and Sue, but Alice finds this a difficult adjustment because her father has disappointed her before.[11] She sees that her mum is going to let Jack back into their lives and decides to leave home herself until her mum returns to her senses.

While she's on the road she bumps into Mick who is searching for his Uncle Roy, a rider who travels the rodeo circuit and is Mick's role model.[11] Alice and Mick reluctantly share their journey by hitching rides, camping and 'borrowing' a boat to get to Katherine. However, once they arrive in Katherine, Mick learns that he's missed Uncle Roy, the rodeo show is over, and his aunt puts him on the next bus to Darwin. Meanwhile, Alice gets approached by a policeman and because she's worried about the consequences of her earlier actions she jumps into her mum's Moke that happens to be parked outside the police station and starts to drive out of Katherine. Before long she spots Mick sitting on the back of a broken down bus and so the two of them end up driving along a desert track in order to find the outstation where Mick's tribal people are living. Trouble strikes when the Moke runs out of petrol and they are left to proceed with their journey on foot.

Mick discovers that his knowledge of the desert isn't quite what he thought it was, and the two of them are in fact lost and in quite a dangerous predicament where dehydration and sunstroke start taking their toll.[11]

Meanwhile, Jack and Sue are frantic after having followed the children's trail to Katherine and learning that Alice has taken the Moke.[11] An extensive police search and rescue is in full swing. Jack follows his own gut instinct and the advice of an Aboriginal man who passed the children earlier and ends up finding the deserted Moke. By now Jack knows he's on the right track and races on, but in the heat of it all he rounds a crest at top speed just before he spots Alice and Mick and ends up having to swerve to avoid hitting them, which results in him crashing the car. Alice cares for her injured father while Mick goes in search of help which he finds in the nick of time and the three of them end up safe. Alice is reunited with her mum and Jack goes to hospital. Mick goes back to his aunt in Darwin and Alice realises that despite her father's faults, he does truly love her.

• John Jarratt
• Madeleine Blackwell
• Bennendine Woods
• Donald Dale
• Tom Lewis
• Justine Saunders
• Bernadette Hudson
• Mai Nguyen
• Willy Johnson
• Marcus Rosas

On Wednesday, 16 March 1988, the premiere screening of Top Enders was held at the Museum Theaterette in Darwin.[2] The film was launched in association with The Hon. Don Dale, MLA, the Northern Territory Minister for Health and Community Services. Dr Patricia Edgar, Director of the Foundation and Ray Norman, the N.T. representative of the ACTF Board were present, along with Bennedine Woods, who played Alice in Top Enders, Madeleine Blackwell who played Alice’s mother Sue, other cast and crew members, educationalists and the media.

The Foundation held a screening of the subtitled version of Captain Johnno at the State Film theatre in Melbourne on 2 August 1988. The screening was attended by 240 children from schools for the deaf and from schools with attached hearing impaired units. Janet Holmes a Court, Chairman of the Foundation welcomed the children to the screening with the assistance of Julie Rees from the Victorian School for the Deaf, who translated Mrs Holmes a Court’s welcome into sign language. The film was very well received by the children and their teachers. The Foundation held a screening of the subtitled version of Captain Johnno at the Theatre of the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney on 28 November 1988. The children were welcomed to the screening by Dr Patricia Edgar, Director of the Foundation, whose remarks were translated into sign language. Some 200 children from schools for the deaf and schools with attached hearing impaired units thoroughly enjoyed the film.

On Thursday 3 May 1990 the Foundation, in conjunction with the Young Variety Club of Western Australia, held a screening for deaf children of the subtitled version of Captain Johnno in Perth.[16]

The ACTF took out a prestigious International Emmy Award presented by the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1988. Captain Johnno, a telemovie from the Touch the Sun series was awarded First prize in the Children’s and Young people’s Section at a Gala Dinner in New York.

Devil’s Hill, Princess Kate and Captain Johnno of the Touch the Sun series were screened at the First International Festival for Children held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 14-22 July 1988.

At the presentation of the 1988 Bicentennial Paters presented by the Australasian Academy of Broadcast Arts and Sciences at Expo 88 in Brisbane, Australia. More than 1600 television, film and radio entries in 110 categories from 46 countries were judged.

And in the major Drama and variety Entertainment category the Australian Children’s Television Foundation took two of the three children’s program awards. Touch the Sun received the children’s Drama program – Series Award.

George Ogilvie was nominated in the Best Director – telemovie category of the AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards for his direction of Princess Kate of the Touch the Sun series. The awards were presented in Sydney, Australia on 10 October 1988.

At the Chicago International Festival of Children’s Films held from 14-23 October 1988, Devil’s Hill of the Touch the Sun series was awarded First Prize for Live Action in the feature length Video Section.

At the Australian Television Society Awards held in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday, 19 November 1988, Touch the Sun won the award for Excellence for Children’s Drama (Peter & Pompey); the Award for Excellence in Scriptwriting – One-Off Drama or Mini-Series (Peter & Pompey by John Misto); and the Award for Excellence in a Performance by a Juvenile Actor (Damien Walters in Captain Johnno).

At the Australian Cinematographers’ Society Awards, announced on 29 October 1988, Roger Dowling won a Gold Cinema Award for his work as Cinematographer on Captain Johnno.

Devil’s Hill was selected for screening in the Children and Youth section of the Berlin International Film Festival held from 10-21 February 1989.

All Touch the Sun films were screened during the 7th International Film Festival for Youth held in Lyon, France from 13-23 March 1989. Captain Johnno was screened in the Competition Section and all other films in the Information Section. Captain Johnno received a high distinction (runner up) in the Grand Jury prize section of the Festival.

Touch the Sun won the award for best Australian produced television series presented in Grenfell NSW, Australia, on 10 June 1989 as part of the town’s Queen’s Birthday weekend Henry Lawson Festival of Arts.

Captain Johnno and Princess Kate of the Touch the Sun series were selected for screening in the Banff Television Festival which was held in Canada from 4-10 June 1989. Captain Johnno was one of three finalists in the children’s section.

The fourth International Children’s Assembly attended by more than 1000 children from all over the world was held in Bulgaria from 13-22 July 1988. As part of the Children’s Assembly the First International Film festival for Children and Young people was held at the National palace of Culture in Sofia.

The Foundation entered three films, Princess Kate, Captain Johnno and Devil’s Hill from the Touch the Sun series in the Festival. In response the Festival organisers through the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria in Sydney invited the directors of Captain Johnno and Devil’s Hill to attend the Film Festival along with child stars from their casts.

On 11 July 1988 Mario Andreacchio (Director – Captain Johnno), Esben Storm (Director – Devil’s Hill), Damien Walters ('Johnno’ – Captain Johnno), Alexander Jacobs (‘Badge' – Devil’s Hill) and Emma Pugh (‘Bron’ – Devil’s Hill) set off on what was to be a wonderful experience for all of them.

Damien, Alexander and Emma took part in the “Children’s Assembly of Peace” which takes place every three years in Bulgaria. Children from 122 countries took part in varied activities and visited different parts of Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, Mario and Esben attended the First International Film Festival for Children and Young people. They reported an excellent response to the three Touch the Sun films screened and great interest in the work of the Foundation. Damien Walters who is profoundly deaf addressed in sign language the 3000 children who attended the screening of Captain Johnno. Mario translated into English for Damien and a Bulgarian translated the English into his native language.

Captain Johnno and Princess Kate screened at this festival, held in Quebec, Canada, from 18-24 September 1989, at the request of the Festival coordinator.

Captain Johnno and Princess Kate screened at this Festival held in Amsterdam from 11-18 October 1989, at the request of The Netherlands Children’s Youth Film Centre.

Captain Johnno and Devil’s Hill screened at the London Film Festival, held from 11-26 November 1989, at the Festival’s request.

Due to the response to Captain Johnno from the deaf community, the British Film Institute purchased a subtitled print of the film for their library.

On 7 December 1989, at an evening hosted by Sir Richard Attenborough, the Institute presented extracts of the film at a debate on access to the cinema for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Peter & Pompey screened at this festival held in New Delhi from 14-23 November 1989, at the request of the Australian High Commission of India.

Captain Johnno screened at this festival, held in Finland from 20-26 November 1989, at the Festival’s request.

Peter & Pompey and Devil’s Hill of the Touch the Sun series screened in the Cleveland International Film Festival held in the USA from 19-29 April 1990.

Peter & Pompey of the Touch the Sun series screened at Filmfest DC, the International Film Festival held in Washington, USA from 25 April to 6 May 1990.

The Australian Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, screened all of the Touch the Sun films at its second film festival held throughout May and June 1990.

Devil’s Hill, Peter & Pompey and Captain Johnno screened at the Junior Dublin Film festival held from 13-21 October 1990.

Devil’s Hill screened at the Baltimore Film Forum in the USA in April 1991, at the request of the Festival organisers.

At Cinemagic held in Belfast from 21-29 September 1990, Captain Johnno of the Touch the Sun series was awarded First prize by the Guild of Regional Film Writers’ Jury.

The Foundation was awarded the 1989 New South Wales Children’s Week Award for Touch the Sun.

The Award was presented to the Director of the Foundation, Dr Patricia Edgar, by the Hon. Virginia Chadwick, MLC, at a special awards ceremony held at Parliament House in Sydney on 26 October 1989.

In June 1990 the Foundation received a Children’s Television Program Award from China Central TV for Captain Johnno of the Touch the Sun series.

Top Enders of the Touch the Sun series screened as part of a Retrospective of Australian Children’s Films 1927-1990 at the 9th International Kinderfilmfestival held in Essen, Germany from 1-10 November 1991.

Captain Johnno of the Touch the Sun series screened at the Kinderkino festival held in Berlin, Germany from 15-18 November 1991.

In November 1992, “Devil’s Hill” from the Touch the Sun series was screened at the 7th Berlin KinderKinotage in Germany at the request of the festival Committee.

Books were published to accompany each of the six films. Sales by June were an outstanding 54,000 and three titles (Princess Kate, Captain Johnno and Peter & Pompey) were on the children’s paperbacks best-seller list.[2]

As at 30 June 1989 Penguin Books Australia reported sales of 56,000 Touch the Sun books.[8]

As at 30 June 1990 Penguin Books reported sales of 65,031 Touch the Sun books.[16]

As at 30 June 1991 Penguin Books reported sales of 70,551 Touch the Sun books.[12]

As at 30 June 1991 Penguin Books Australia Ltd reported sales of 77,636 Touch the Sun books.[12]

As at 30 June 1993 Penguin Books Australia Ltd reported sales of 81,937 Touch the Sun books.[17]

As at 30 June 1994 Penguin Books Australia Ltd reported sales of 88,000 Touch the Sun books.[14]

Penguin Books Australia Ltd reported sales of 89,000 Touch the Sun books to 30 June 1995.[18]

Study kits were produced to accompany the videocassettes and these were included in the Touch The Sun Video School packs.[2]