The film provides an insight into an incident at the 1968 Summer Olympics which saw two United States athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, give the black power salute from the victory dais after the 200 metres final.

The film focuses on the third man on the dais, silver medal winner Peter Norman, who showed his support for Smith and Carlos by donning an "Olympic Project for Human Rights" (OPHR) badge on his way to the podium.

Asked later about his support of Smith and Carlos' cause by the world's press, Norman said he opposed his country's government's White Australia policy.

While there had been attempts by American filmmakers to put together a piece on the event, these earlier films had overlooked the actions of Peter Norman.

As a result, Matt Norman realised that the full story of his famous uncle had never been told and began filming Salute at the end of 2002.