The many faces of Aotearoa feature in new and returning factual content to achieve funding in the latest hotly contested NZ On Air funding round.
Delivering in its vision of ‘connecting and reflecting Aotearoa’ the lineup of content for many different audiences tell uniquely New Zealand stories from a wide range of people who call Aotearoa home.
Giants, a new series for Māori Television, is about legacy, whakapapa and heritage seen through the lens of different migrant communities in Aotearoa. Queer And Here, also for Māori Television, is a fresh new series that will challenge, educate and entertain its audience as we explore the LGBTQIA+ community.
Inspiring New Zealanders feature in many new series including Portrait Of A Quiet Revolutionary, an intimate biographical documentary about one of our leading Māori academics, activist and societal commentator Moana Jackson. The Black Ferns – Wāhine Toa is an intimate two-part documentary for Prime profiling the Māori and Pasifika women who are the world champion Black Ferns rugby team.
We can all follow the fortunes of our champion Paralympic athletes and celebrate with them through Tokyo 2021 Paralympics: We All Participate, on TVNZ 1.
Inspiring artists feature in Asian Art Stars Aotearoa, a webseries for RNZ presenting 18 mini profiles on young pan-Asian NZ artists, and exploring themes of cultural identity. O’Town Dreaming is also set to inspire with profiles of young talented artists striving to make a future for themselves against the urban backdrop of Ōtara.
Matters Pasifika are explored in two new series. Panthers – The Next Chapter, a webseries on TVNZ OnDemand aims to engage young Pacific audiences with their history and place in this country. It is a factual companion piece to the drama series The Panthers, already commissioned for TVNZ 1. #DigitalFāgogo will use video and podcasts to look at the Pacific storytelling taonga and artform that is Fāgogo.
Returning series include the inspiring and moving prime time documentary Unbreakable – back with a brand-new cast of people living with disabilities who are determined to follow their dreams.
Online documentary series Breaking Silence confronts the issue of domestic abuse in New Zealand which reaches into every corner of NZ, in this second season for Stuff, domestic abuse in ethnic communities and the LGBTQIA+ communities is explored.
The ever-popular Loading Docs returns with eight new short documentaries, this time on the theme of Tūmanako/Hope. He Kākano Ahau is back with a second season of podcasts featuring uniquely Māori and youth-focused world views, and Rural Delivery returns; celebrating the people who live and work in the rural sector.
NZ On Air Head of Funding Amie Mills says the subject matter spread, and the range of audiences these stories intend to reach holds a mirror up to Aotearoa.
“There is so much opportunity here to see inside others’ lives, understand more about who we are as a nation, and feel more connected to each other,” she continued.
“As always, there were more exceptional projects pitched for this round than NZ On Air was able to fund”, Ms Mills said.
Funding details:
New
Tokyo 2021 Paralympics: We All Participate, 12 x 23 mins, Attitude Pictures for TVNZ 1, up to $500,000 ( Funded from the Prime Minister’s Emerging Priorities Fund.)
The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa, 2 x 45 mins, Warner Bros. Production TV for Prime, up to $386,167 plus platform contribution reduction of $84,000
O’Town Dreaming, 8 x 15 mins, Bloom Pictures for TVNZ OnDemand, up to $358,743 plus platform contribution reduction of $31,888
Asian Art Stars Aotearoa, 6 x 22 mins, Diva Productions for RNZ, up to $276,049
Panthers: The Next Chapter, 7 x 13 mins, Four Knight’s Film for TVNZ OnDemand, up to $270,041 plus platform contribution reduction of $24,003
Giants, 7 x 26 mins, Fire Fire for Māori Television, up to $255,578
Queer & Here, 6 x 26 mins, Jack Media for Māori Television, up to $224,000
Portrait Of A Quiet Revolutionary, 1 x 46 mins, Tawera Productions for Mana Trust / E-Tangata, up to $158,606 plus platform contribution reduction of $1,320
#Digital Fagogo, 8 x 5 mins, Tikilounge Productions for TheCoconet.tv, up to $134,700
Returning
Attitude 2021, 30 x 23 mins, Attitude Pictures for TVNZ 1, up to $1,876,967
Tagata Pasifika 2021, 50 x 23 + 2 x 90 mins, SunPix for TVNZ 1, up to $1,781,974
Fresh 2021, 35 x 23 mins, Tikilounge Productions for TVNZ 2, up to $1,765,000
Unbreakable 2, 6 x 44 mins, Storymaker for TVNZ 1, up to $727,904 plus platform contribution reduction of $264,000
Breaking Silence 2, 8 x 10 mins, Magnetic Pictures for Stuff.co.nz, up to $242,364 plus platform contribution reduction of $4,000
Loading Docs: Tūmanako / Hope, 8 x 8 mins, Notable Pictures for LoadingDocs.net, up to $195,342
Rural Delivery 2021, 10 x 23 mins, Showdown Productions for TVNZ 1, up to $156,109
The Nutters Club 2021, 48 x 90 mins, The Key To Life Charitable Trust for Newstalk ZB, up to $81,680 plus platform contribution reduction of $46,080
He Kākano Ahau 2, 7 x 45 mins, Ursula Grace Films for RNZ, up to $79,435 plus platform contribution reduction up to $9,200 (for Re; secondary platform)
Real Life With John Cowan 2021, 48 x 22 mins, Christian Broadcasting Association for Newstalk ZB, up to $38,448
Christmas 2020, 18 x 51 mins, Christian Broadcasting Association for Newstalk ZB, up to $34,174
Easter 2021, 12 x 54 mins, Christian Broadcasting Association for NewstalkZB, up to $32,799