He Toki Huna - New Zealand in Afghanistan
He Toki Huna sets out to provide an independent overview of New Zealand’s involvement in Afghanistan (the longest overseas war in which NZ has played a role). The documentary follows writer Jon Stephenson conducting eyewitness interviews in Afghanistan, and poses tough questions about the involvement of Kiwi troops in a conflict that co-director Kay Ellmers calls an “ill-defined war against an unclear” enemy. Ellmers and Annie Goldson made the Moa Award-winning film for Māori Television. An extended cut played at the 2013 NZ International Film Festival.
Sale of a Nation
As part of the radical 80s neoliberal reform of the public and corporate sector in New Zealand, many government-run assets were turned into state owned enterprises; some were sold off to foreign buyers. Screening on TV3, this 1991 film, written by Metro columnist Bruce Jesson, examines the controversial programme by asking “who owns this country and who controls it?”. Those answering range from businesspeople to politicians, academics, journalists, vox pops and critics of the ‘cashing-in’, from the Hamilton Jet family to UK environmentalist Teddy Goldsmith.
Thomas Sainsbury - Funny As Interview
Thomas Sainsbury is an accomplished playwright, actor and director, who found national fame in 2017 with his Snapchat impressions of MP Paula Bennett.
Peter Roberts: From Gloss to The Dark Horse...
Award-winning editor Peter Roberts runs post production company RPM Pictures, and has worked on a wide range of TV shows and films. His TV credits include Gloss, God, Sreenu and Me, Legend of the Seeker and Artsville. His film work includes The Dark Horse, Hip Hop-eration, The Most Fun You Can Have Dying and 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous.
Lisa Taouma
Lisa Taouma has a laufala bag spilling over with Pasifika screen credits. She has directed on Tagata Pasifika, helmed TV2’s Polyfest and made documentaries on subjects from Samoan tattoo to fa’afafine. She produces pioneering PI youth show Fresh with Mario Gaoa, and in 2014 launched Polynesian online community Coconet. Taouma also wrote short films Brown Sugar and Talk of the Town.
Paul Henry
Paul Henry has run his own radio station, and reported from Bosnia and Iraq. After presenting episodes of TV staples This is Your Life and Close Up, he won both fans and regular controversy during seven straight-talking years co-hosting live show Breakfast. After joining company MediaWorks he began hosting the three-hour long Paul Henry in April 2015. The morning show plays simultaneously on TV3, radio and online.
Gordon Dryden
From a career in print journalism and public relations that began in his teens, Gordon Dryden became a familiar face on New Zealand television in the mid 70s. Earning himself a reputation as a tough interviewer, Dryden hosted coverage of the 1975 election before presenting Friday Conference. A 1991 TV series on education would lead to book The Learning Revolution, which sold in the millions.
Jonathan Dennis
Described by author Emma Jean Kelly as a flamboyant "champion of New Zealand culture", Jonathan Dennis was the founding director of The Film Archive in 1981 and led the organisation into a bicultural era. Dennis, who headed the Film Archive for nine years, was praised for making films more accessible. He also made documentaries (Mouth Wide Open, Mana Waka) and presented Radio New Zealand's Film Show.
Dell King
Editor and director Dell King’s plans to be a filmmaker faced a challenge when she discovered that the Government’s National Film Unit had closed its doors to women directors. Instead King began her long screen career as a negative cutter, and later worked as editor or sound editor on a run of documentaries and features, including the classics Ngati and Vigil.
Peter Roberts
Since relocating from the United Kingdom, Peter Roberts has made his mark in New Zealand as an editor. Roberts found his editing niche at TVNZ, before a prolific freelance career saw him cutting a string of documentaries, shorts, and features — including award-winning drama The Dark Horse. In 2013 he became the first editor to be elected President of the Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand.