The Roaring Forties Tour
In this documentary, poet Sam Hunt and raconteur Gary McCormick shake out the ache of descending middle age and hit the road for an old fashioned ‘rock and roll style’ poetry tour. Starting in Invercargill, the longtime mates make their way up the length of the country, sharing stories, anecdotes and of course, poems along the way. Here are two people's poets, one arguably great, the other certainly good, captured in full flight during their prime. The Roaring Forties Tour was nominated for NZ Film and Television Awards in 1996, for its editing and music.
Wicked Weather - The Wind
Produced by NHNZ, this NZ Screen Award-nominated 2005 TVNZ series looks at Aotearoa’s diverse weather. This first episode (of three) explores "the main driving force behind all our weather" — the wind — from the science behind where it comes from, to its impact on people (from sport to the economy). Presenter Gus Roxburgh contends with Wellington’s infamous wind, and with Auckland’s tornadoes and cyclones. He looks at when weather is good (wind farms, windsurfing) and when weather goes bad (the Wahine disaster, Cyclone Bola, landing at Wellington Airport).
Young Mountains
The Southern Alps contain some of the youngest mountains in the world. In this NHNZ documentary awesome four seasons footage and sound design evoke the the tenuous richness of life in the vast, geologically dynamic landscape. Garrulous kea (the world’s only mountain parrot), Himalayan thar, “snow thrush” (crickets) and Mount Cook buttercup (the world’s largest) exist in a world of thundering avalanches and creaking glaciers. The classically filmed doco won a Merit Award at the 1993 International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula.
How's the Weather, Jim?
Over more than two decades presenting the weather on One News, Jim Hickey kept the nation informed of the wind, rain and sunshine they could expect. In this documentary he explains how forecasts are done, and looks at some stranger meteorological phenomena. Among them are Christchurch's infamous behaviour-altering nor’wester, Wellington's persistent wind and Auckland tendency for "four seasons in one day". He checks out some of the country’s more extreme weather events too, including interviewing a tornado survivor and finding answers on climate change.
Conon Fraser
As writer and presenter of The World Around Us, and producer of Looking at New Zealand, Conon Fraser was an early television celebrity. He joined the National Film Unit in 1969 and continued to make films documenting his adopted country’s landscape and history, and New Zealanders’ way of life. Fraser died on 17 June 2014, aged 84.
Sam Hunt
Sam Hunt, CNZM, QSM, is arguably New Zealand's best-known, best-selling poet. The idiosyncratic Hunt published the first of many poetry collections at the age of 23. Since then he has performed across the length of the land in pubs and schools, and made music with David Kilgour and the NZ Symphony Orchestra. Hunt explored Cook Strait for 1988 documentary Catching the Tide, and can be seen touring with poet Gary McCormick in Artists Prepare andThe Roaring Forties Tour. He was also the subject of the five years in the making Sam Hunt: Purple Moon, which was released in 2011.
Keith Ballantyne
Music has been integral to Kevin Ballantyne’s life since the day he picked up a cornet at age five. The Aucklander has been composing music for 40 years for television, theatre, short films and commercials. Ballantyne wrote music for the iconic Heartland series. His first foray into writing music for the screen was 1977 natural history documentary Red Deer, which won an award at the American Film Festival.
Lynton Diggle
Lynton Diggle spent almost 25 years working as a cameraman and director for government picture-makers the National Film Unit, before launching his own company. Along the way, he has shot images in Antarctica, the waters of Lake Taupō, and alongside Lawrence of Arabia director David Lean.
William Grieve
William Grieve is a producer with more than two decades experience in documentaries, factual series, commercials and feature films. Grieve has worked extensively with filmmaker Bruce Morrison and entertainer Gary McCormick.
Swami Hansa
Swami Hansa (sometimes credited as Anand Hansa or Malcolm Nish) was operating a camera in 1962, the day TV began broadcasting in Dunedin. Hansa has been shooting ever since, his work ranging across natural history, human interest and the arts. His CV includes many episodes of the long-running Heartland, plus such noted docos as Birth, Kiwi - A Natural History and Horizon doco The Man Who Moved Mountains, made for the BBC.