Amy Street
Amy Street is an award-winning series of eight short documentaries. Each tells the story of a resident in a Thames assisted living community for people with intellectual disabilities. Opening the series is Celeste, a superfan of Shortland Street who gets to meet one of her Street idols. Other interviewees include Moyzee, a keen singer who says "labels are on jars and I'm not a jar so you can't label me"; couple Topsy and Dave, who are excited about their upcoming wedding, and Jonathan, a runner who hopes to win a medal at the Special Olympics in Dunedin.
Love, Speed and Loss
Love, Speed and Loss is an extended documentary about racer Kim Newcombe, who turned heads in the 1970s on a König motorbike he developed and designed himself. Built around home movie footage and interviews with his charismatic, straight-talking widow Janeen, the film charts the couple's travels in Europe, and triumph on the track. Newcombe was killed racing in 1973, and posthumously finished second in that year's World 500cc Championship. Love, Speed and Loss won best documentary at the 2007 Qantas TV Awards and three Air NZ Screen gongs.
Hone Tuwhare
The late Hone Tūwhare (1922-2008) remains one of New Zealand's most loved and respected poets. Tūwhare has been the subject of numerous documentaries. He also wrote short stories and plays, and the drama Eel for anthology television series E Tipu e Rea. Tuwhare died on 16 January 2008 in Dunedin.
Jonathan Gunson
Advertising veteran Jonathan Gunson stepped into TV shows en route to books and the internet. After writing a children's book in 1985, he created futuristic kids series Space Knights and sci fi series The Boy from Andromeda. Then came internationally bestselling puzzle book The Merlin Mystery, offering readers a 75,000 pound prize. After work in internet marketing, Gunson launched his own blog for wannabe writers.
Jonathan Ogilvie
Christchurch-born Jonathan Ogilvie has made dozens of music videos including the iconic clip She Speeds, for the Straitjacket Fits song. Based in Australia since the 90s, the AFTRS graduate has since had two shorts in competition at Cannes — one of them a Tropfest winner — shot a feature on Super 8 film, and in 2008 released 1920s gangster romance The Tender Hook, starring Hugo Weaving and Rose Byrne.
Peter Wells
Peter Wells broke ground as one of the first New Zealanders to tell gay stories on-screen. Aside from his work as an author, he explored gay and historical themes in several acclaimed drama and documentaries — including pioneering TV drama A Death in the Family, colourful big screen melodrama Desperate Remedies and Georgina Beyer documentary Georgie Girl. Wells died on 18 February 2019.
Nevak Rogers
As the Head of Content Development at Māori Television and commissioning consultant for TVNZ's Māori and Pacific Programmes, Nevak Rogers is always looking to capture that elusive rangatahi audience. The former journalist and moved into directing and producing Māori and Pacific Island stories. She has presented popular reality shows like Marae DIY and produced doco Ngā Tamatoa - 40 Years On.
Ronald Hugh Morrieson
Ronald Hugh Morrieson fashioned dark yet exuberant novels from the provincial Taranaki towns where he spent most of his life. A classic Kiwi example of a writer who won increasing fame after death, Morrieson remains one of New Zealand's most filmed writers, despite writing only four books.
Peter Arnett
The long journalism career of Pulitzer-Prize winner Peter Arnett includes interviews with Fidel Castro, General Manuel Noriega, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. But he is probably best known for the two month period in 1991 when he reported on the Gulf War for CNN — the only Western journalist then left in Baghdad.
Maurice Gee
Maurice Gee, who was named an Arts Foundation icon in 2003, is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed writers. His work for the screen includes creating 80s kidult series The Fire-Raiser and The Champion. Gee's novels have also inspired a number of adaptations, notably classic sci-fi series Under the Mountain and movie In My Father's Den.