When director Abraham Byrne-Jameson was a sporty kid – playing rugby league, snowboarding and racing motocross bikes – he never told anyone he was Indigenous. Now 32 years old and launching his first documentary, Dreaming Big, the Wuthathi man is proud to be showcasing the next generation of Indigenous sporting talent. From surfing and boxing, to karate, soccer, rock climbing and motorsport, the six-part NITV series celebrates community, culture, and ambition by profiling 13 First Nations athletes aged between 12 and 19 from around Australia.
“When I was [motocross] racing, there was zero Aboriginal culture around, and not through shame or anything like that,” says Byrne-Jameson, whose mob hails from the east coast of Cape York. “But I just never mentioned anything about my culture during those sporting times.”
Karate champion Jesse-Rose Talbot-Cooke stars in the NITV documentary series Dreaming Big.
Co-produced by Wildbear Entertainment (Great Australian Stuff, Makers of Modern Australia) and Indigenous-owned production company Wirrim Media, Dreaming Big highlights achievement over struggle.
“Of course, it’s so important to understand the past so we can create a better future,” says Byrne-Jameson. “But I wanted to champion how good we can be, without focusing on why it’s cool that we’re so good because of the past traumas.”
A snapshot of the athletes includes 18-year-old supercar driver Karlai Warner, who finished in the top five in the Queensland State Excel Championship; boxer Georgia Lawson, 18, who is ranked sixth in the world; and rock-climber Kyle Heuston-Connor, who is in the Australian National Youth team.
Sixteen-year-old Jessie-Rose Talbot-Cooke from Beechmont in Queensland won gold at the 2025 Oceania Karate Championship and appears in the series alongside her soccer-star sister, Julianna-Bree Talbot-Cooke.
Landen Smales after winning at the 2024 Australian Indigenous Surfing Titles.
“We’re honoured to say that we both have made the Australian side,” says Jessie-Rose. “And that we’ve both been able to represent our country as strong Indigenous young women, representing our culture and striving for bigger and better things and showing younger girls and Indigenous children that anything is possible – no matter the age, no matter the difference, no matter the sport.”
Having begun training at age six, Jessie-Rose hopes the series broadens the scope of sporting options for kids.
