JulianO'Brien
- Producer
- Director
Julian O'Brien, who shepherds the team of reporter/directors on Country Calendar, knows something about the job. He spent nine years in the field, before returning as the show's producer. O'Brien began as a newspaper journalist, and his broadcast career also includes stints directing current affairs, documentaries and corporate videos.
Screenography
Biography
Julian O'Brien, who has produced Country Calendar since 2005 and began working on it in the 1980s, thinks the show helps connect urban and rural New Zealanders. “Although most Kiwis have a strong identification with the land, townies don't necessarily have an intimate, immediate connection,” he says. “Country Calendar helps create a bridge.”
Awards
2020 New Zealand Television Awards
Best Factual Series (shared with Dan Henry): Hyundai Country Calendar
“Certainly there are gorgeous backdrops and beautiful scenery, which we try to make the most of in the show, but in the end they are people stories: stories about people who are hands-on on the land. ”