Audiences who love documentaries and other factual content can now enjoy compelling New Zealand stories in more places than ever before.
NZ On Air’s NZ Media Fund, which came into being on 1 July this year, invests in public media for many audiences on a range of platforms. The first funding round has just been decided, the first time NZ On Air has considered television, radio and online projects on a level playing field.
Factual content supported in this round covers topics as diverse as popular music, history, politics, health, natural history, te ao Māori and stories from the fringes of society.
“We considered 50 applications for factual content funding, covering a very wide range of ideas, audiences and platforms. Of these just over half, from 25 different production companies, were successful. The successful projects all contribute to our objectives of quality, diverse, discoverable content. The unsuccessful projects include some excellent but under-developed ideas that may get across the line in the future,” said NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson.
“There are never enough funds to do everything we’d like to do so the bar is high. What we have achieved in this first NZMF round is a good balance between high investment mainstream content, most of which will also sell internationally, and lower investment content for clearly targeted audiences,” said Ms Wrightson.
Content supported in this round will be available on a variety of mainstream and specialist platforms.
July 2017
New content:
National Anthems, 5 x 52 mins, Notable Pictures for Prime, up to $1,324,608
A documentary series that tells the story of NZ popular music, with a focus on our most-loved songs.
Mistress Mercy, 1 x 90 mins, Gibson Group for TVNZ 1, up to $1,109750
A Sunday Theatre docudrama on a significant NZ murder trial.
Ocean Predators, 3 x 44 mins, Ocean Answers Ltd for Prime, up to $767,030
This heart-racing documentary series takes viewers on thrilling encounters with our oceans’ biggest predators.
I Am..., 6 x 44 mins, Screentime New Zealand for TVNZ 1, up to $749,949
Six intensely emotional first hand accounts of what it means to be different.
How Not To Get Cancer, 4 x 44 mins, Feather And Wolf Media Ltd for TVNZ 1, up to $692,355
A leading cancer surgeon sorts superstition from science as he explores why we die from so many preventable cancers, and what we can do about it.
New Zealand Wars, Great Southern for RNZ, up to $468,000
An interactive online project including a documentary, podcast, battle reconstruction and online museum, telling the story of the 19th century NZ wars.
The Demolition Teams, 10 x 22 mins, Broadcast Media for Prime, up to $369,540
Viewers will be taken inside the hardhat no-go zones inhabited by demolition teams, charged with taking down buildings left unsafe by recent earthquakes.
Intake, 7 x 26 mins, Diva Productions for Māori Television, up to $310,475
A ground-breaking series observing a troop of young recruits as they go through the gruelling basic training to become soldiers in the NZ Army.
Face The Classroom, 2 x 44 mins, Screentime New Zealand for TVNZ 1, up to $213,335
New Zealand’s future voters grill our political leaders in two hour long pre-election specials.
In Foreign Fields, 1 x 52 mins, Ponsonby Productions for Māori Television, up to $197,634
An Anzac Day special asks who owns the bodies of the fallen, as an initiative begins to bring home the last of the bodies of Kiwi soldiers killed in the South East Asian conflicts.
Millennium Teens, 1 x 44 mins, Greenstone TV for TVNZ 1, up to $174,981
We check in on how life has turned out for a group of 18 year olds who were the subject of a documentary filmed in December 1999 on the first NZ babies born in the new millennium.
The Road To Rhythm- 15 Years Of Rhythm And Vines, 4 x 10 mins, NZME Publishing for NZ Herald online, up to $146,847
A documentary series featuring stories from New Zealand’s longest running and most successful music festival.
Marks Of Mana, 1 x 45 mins, Tikilounge Productions for The Coconet.tv, up to $119,834
A one-off documentary looking at the art of Pacific Ta Tatau from a female perspective, exploring stories of both the wearers and the creators of Marks of Mana for women.
Zealandia, 3 x 20 mins, White Paper Industries Limited for Vice.com , up to $74,675
Telling NZ’s untold stories – authentic stories from people living on the fringes of our society, the marginalised and misunderstood.
Sharing The Love, 1 x 20 mins, Cabrikaan Productions Limited for WatchMe, up to $72,117
One family’s intimate story of the challenges and joys of whāngai adoption – the customary Māori practice where a child is brought up by another relative.
Returning content:
Coast New Zealand 3, 6 x 44ins, Great Southern Television for TVNZ 1, up to $1,808,685
A return of the top rating series that brings our people, places and history to life and showcases New Zealand to the world.
Country Calendar 2018, 38 x 22.5 mins, TVNZ for TVNZ 1, up to $538,384
The top-rating documentary series that brings us the stories of the everyday people who work the land and the sea, with beautiful images and mastrful story-telling.
Local Focus 2017/18, 480 x 2 mins, Very Nice Productions, $400,000
Audio/visual regional news and information for Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Whanganui.
The South Today, 1200 x 1 min, Allied Press, $397,000
Audio/visual regional news adn information for Southland/Otago
Game Of Bros 3, 7 x 26 mins, Tikilounge Productions for Māori Television, up to $348,392
For the third series Game Of Bros high profile Pacific and Māori actors, singers and sports legends battle it out. Expect humour and adrenaline.
CTV 2017/18, 672 x 2.5 mins, Star Media Ltd, $261,000
Regional audio/visual news and information for Canterbury.
Haukāinga 2017/18, 180 x 3 mins, Te Hiku Media, $180,000
Regional audio/visual news and information for Northland
Attitude Awards 2017, 1 x 59 mins, Attitude Pictures for TVNZ 1, up to $162,100
The annual televised celebration of achievement in the disability community, opening viewers minds to the vast potential of people who live with disabilities and chronic ill health.
Great War Stories 2018, 7 x 4 mins, A C Productions for Three, up to $109,500
The final set of mini documentaries on New Zealanders in the First World War, to screen during prime time news.
Anzac Dawn Service 2018, 1 x 95 mins, for Māori Television by Māori Television, up to $77,442
Live coverage of the Auckland Dawn Service, marking the 102nd Anzac Day, honouring our brave soldiers who fought in all our wars.
The Nutters Club, 18 x 95 mins, The Key To Life Charitable Trust for Newstalk ZB, up to $26,520
The inimitable Mike King and guests remove taboos and encourage conversation, awareness and understanding of mental health and suicide.