Planning, packing and nerves: Six Aussies kick off Race Around The World

If you were dropped in an unfamiliar country and told to make a film, where would you start?

The brief for ABC's Race Around The World contestants is simple (albeit daunting): create 10 films from 10 countries across 100 days.

But how do you prepare for a trip when you don't know where you're being sent, and you've only got one 23-kilogram suitcase for the entire journey?

That was the first challenge for six Australian filmmakers selected for the reboot of the 1990s ABC series.

Spoiler: preparations involve quitting your job, pants that zip into shorts and lots of therapy.

Meet the contestants

What's making the suitcase

When it comes to loading up a suitcase for Race Around The World, the saying "look good, feel good" rings true for content creator-turned-filmmaker Lucinda Price.

"What's important to me is being able to take my makeup and clothes," she says.

"I'm going heavy on the accessories and some core basics in bright colours. And if I go somewhere cold, I'll get a jacket when I'm there."

Pants that zip into shorts and T-shirts for travel are all part of her plan.

Looking the part is particularly important to Price, who aims to be both in front of and behind the camera.

"I think I'll be in a lot of the stories, but it would be more like a thought that I've had and then following it," she says.

But if you are familiar with the work of Price, who goes by Froomes on social media, she says you should expect the unexpected.

"I'm going totally different. I want to focus on other people. I really like how Louis Theroux does it because he's in it, but he's pushing the narrative along and giving it a steer, but letting people speak for themselves."

For Jayden O'Neill, it's not about packing his personal possessions; his focus is on the technical side.

"I think my non-negotiable is my long lens," he says.

As a self-described conservation and natural history filmmaker, O'Neill says he's sacrificing other equipment to capitalise on his cinematic technique.

He knows he may only do a wildlife angle for a few of his stories, but getting it right is essential.

"It's my style. For those stories, if I didn't have that extra zoom to be able to get the really beautiful crisp shots …

"If I was doing a story on gorillas, and all I had was a wide shot of a gorilla, I'd be so unhappy with it."

Preparing for adventure

Before they leave for the real deal, the filmmakers have been in Sydney for a week-long bootcamp. On the final day, Mikaela Zuiderduyn admits to being exhausted already.

The six contestants have been familiarising themselves with camera equipment, getting caught up on safety information and all the less-exciting parts of being part of a TV show.

"There's been a lot of information thrown at us every day, and then the time you have off, you're absorbing it all," Zuiderduyn says.

Not to mention the rush to sort out their lives at home before this grand adventure.

"I had to quit my job. I had to sell things that wouldn't be in use, get your whole life prepared at home," she says.

As they process all the new information buzzing about their brains, tinker with editing software and jot down film ideas in their notes, the restlessness is palpable.

Each contestant has a different way of handling it.

For Elliot Constable, who has travelled the world and produced films for the likes of SBS, the sooner he gets on a plane, the better. Kate McGuinness, meanwhile, is taking a calm "wing it" approach.

But software engineer William He says his planning includes "talking to my therapist a lot".

It's a stark reminder that these filmmakers, while talented, have been plucked from obscurity.

"The idea of travelling and making movies doesn't scare me. I think the frightening thing has just been the idea of being on TV, me as a character being on TV," He casually admits.

"I've really been thinking about setting up mental anchors, having friends that I know I'm going to talk to all the time. If I'm lucky, they'll send me to places where my time zone lines up better with some of my friends in Europe."

He hopes all of this groundwork will help him better embrace the experience.

"This whole thing is just a privilege to be able to do, and it's important to enjoy it and do what you want with it," he says.

"It's amazing to just go to 10 different countries and make 10 different films, and you can make the most out of that; you don't have to think about the competition."

Stream Race Around The World on ABC iview, or watch Sundays at 7.30pm on ABC TV.

Posted Sun 7 Jun 2026 at 4:30am

Sun 7 Jun 2026 at 4:30am