NHNZ spreads wings to Africa

Media Release
NHNZ and Aquavision
Thursday, March 25, 2010

NHNZ spreads wings to Africa

New Zealand based production company NHNZ has expanded its presence to Africa following the acquisition of a stake in the award winning South African production company, Aquavision.

NHNZ Managing Director, Michael Stedman says joining forces with the Johannesburg based company -- the biggest production house in Southern Africa -- will allow both companies to grow their presence internationally. “Put together two successful production companies, whose strengths are complimentary to each other, and the opportunities for high quality factual programmes will increase accordingly,” he says.

Two years ago NHNZ also bought into the Singapore production company Beach House Pictures to further strengthen its production capability in Asia after opening a production office in Beijing in 2002. NHNZ is also increasingly active in Australia.

Mr Stedman says buying into Aquavision will significantly increase the South African company’s presence globally. “With Aquavision’s knowledge and tremendous experience in Africa, this development will boost both companies’ ability to generate new ideas that appeal to the international market.

"NHNZ is part way through a strategy to bring like-minded companies around the world on board to strengthen our global filmmaking capacity and giving us access to an enormous range of footage and production opportunities,” he says.

Mr Stedman says Aquavision and NHNZ share an innovative approach to filmmaking and both companies are known as early adopters of new technologies.

Aquavision Chief Executive Officer and founder Peter Lamberti is equally excited about the future of the relationship.

"We have enjoyed working closely with NHNZ in the past and have an immense respect for their work so today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in the growth of our relationship.

"Joining forces with NHNZ gives us access to decades of filmmaking expertise and will raise our profile with their network of some of the world’s top broadcasters and networks,” he says.

Despite the change in ownership, it will be business as usually for the 60-strong team of Aquavision who will continue to operate from the company’s base in Johannesburg.

About Aquavision:
Aquavision was founded 20 years ago by Peter Lamberti and since then has developed into one of the world’s best producers of programmes exploring some of Africa’s most beautiful and remote locations. Internationally recognized for filming extraordinary animal behaviour both underwater and in the wild African bush, Aquavision enjoys privileged access to filmmaking hot spots and has a reputation for taking on interesting, challenging and often dangerous projects.

About NHNZ:
NHNZ is one of the world’s largest producers of factual television creating over 60 hours of innovative programming for audiences around the globe. Highly regarded for their work in the natural world, NHNZ sets new standards with documentaries from the world of science, history, adventure and people. The company’s storytelling prowess spans three decades and has been recognized with more than 250 international awards including Emmy awards and a prestigious Wildscreen Panda. In addition to its base in Dunedin, New Zealand, NHNZ has offices in Beijing and Washington DC, and has a major stake in Singapore production company Beach House Pictures.

ENDS

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