Cover image: Jennene Riggs. Supplied

After a chance encounter in Coral Bay in 1998 with a National Geographic underwater film crew – searching for divers to help scout Tiger Shark locations – Jennene and her then partner and production company cofounder, David Riggs, were offered 18 months of work with the team, learning camera systems (including how to load film – it was 1998, after all), developing their artistic eye, and igniting a passion for documentary filmmaking.

Jennene’s career so far has spanned independent projects and commissioned work with multi-national broadcasters like the Discovery Channel, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. Depending on the project, filming and post-production can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years to fully capture a story.

It’s the environment and local history that calls to Jennene most and reflected in her extensive body of work.

“I guess growing up in Esperance, I’ve always been attracted to the natural world. It’s so beautiful here. I’m drawn to stories that focus on that… The Homestead docos came about from going camping at some of these places as a kid and wondering who lived here and what their lives were like. Most of my work extends from a love of growing up here.”

The recently completed Esperance Historical Homesteads series – available to watch on the Riggs Australia YouTube channel – is soon to be joined by, the filmmaker’s latest project, currently awaiting post-production, Island Arks(formerly titled Rewilding the West). Both works epitomise Jennene’s storytelling passions.  

The Homesteads series comprises seven episodes, each focusing on a different building or ruin, many in remote, hard-to-reach locations, sharing the stories of the people and the moments in history they represent. Partnering with writer and Esperance-based historian Karli Florrisson, the pair filmed on location, capturing the region’s striking landscapes, and interviewing family descendants, knowledgeable locals, First Nations Elders, and cultural consultants to ensure each story was authentically told.

Island Arks is awaiting next-stage funding after more than 1000 hours of filming over five years, much of it in remote habitats of the featured threatened species and will be edited into five thirty-minute episodes.

The documentary follows scientists and conservationists implementing programs to establish ‘insurance populations’ for several native species threatened by climate change, feral animal predation, and environment degradation. By translocating secondary populations to isolated islands, near Esperance, Albany, Jurien Bay, Shark Bay, and an undisclosed location, these species have a greater chance to thrive.

“Some of these animals were already critically endangered and increased recent bush fires have made that even worse. This program has found islands that are big enough and have the right natural habitat for these scientists to create an insurance and try and breed up secondary populations off the mainland at these sanctuaries. The Western Ground Parrot has lost so much of its habitat it’s become restricted to just one eco-system of less than 150 birds in the entire world.”

The program also includes Gilbert’s Potoroo, Dibblers, and the Noisy Scrub Bird – considered the ‘Elvis of the bird world’, it’s so elusive even some of those studying it haven’t seen one, though they’ve certainly heard its ‘insanely loud’ birdcall.   

Capturing these animals on film, takes extreme patience, scientific and local knowledge of the animals, and sometimes a Ghillie suit – a camouflage style suit used by military snipers – to be completely immersed in the environment. Jennene hopes to secure post-production funding soon so the series can inspire audiences to learn and love these rare WA native creatures.

The filmmaker has recently branched out into Instagram specific content, turning her stunning archive footage of native animals and flora into informative reels that showcase and educate.

“I can take footage I’ve filmed from all over, of beautiful animals that most people won’t see because they are so rare and edit them into 90 second clips, that’s easily accessible for people to view and much quicker for me to turn around. I really enjoy cutting them together and sharing them with people. It’s like repurposing and reaching whole new audience.”

You can view and follow Jennene’s work at

www.youtube.com/@riggsaustralia and

www.instagram.com/riggsaustralia