Under-represented Audiences The Focus In Latest Factual Content Funded By NZ On Air

Stories about and for under-represented communities feature in the latest Factual funding project announcements from NZ On Air.

These include series that delve into issues affecting Māori, Pasifika and Chinese communities, as well as those living with disabilities or exploring issues of gender and sexuality.

NZ On Air Head of Funding, Amie Mills, says the objective of this funding round is to ensure content by, for and about New Zealand’s many and varied communities gets to shine.

“The targeted audiences round exists to protect and encourage our platforms to reflect the richness of Aotearoa and to provide opportunities for all New Zealanders to view and enjoy stories that do not make their way into mainstream media often enough,” says Mills.

Based on a book by Lily Lee, Farewell Guangdong is a series for RNZ on the experiences of Lee’s family, and many others, who escaped war in China, came to Aotearoa and then built new lives in modern-day New Zealand.

Two new series tackle the challenge of living with a disability. Four Go Flatting is an observational docu-series for TVNZ 2 that takes a rite of passage – leaving home – and gives it a twist, taking four diverse young adults who have an intellectual disability and giving them a real experience of flatting.

The second series looking at living with disability is This is Wheel Life with Sophia & Indy created by Sophia Malthus and Indy Henman – two young women, one who lives with quadriplegia and the other who is her carer. The series about the two women, who began documenting their lives together on their YouTube channel, Soph & Indy, follows them as they navigate life, pursue their dreams and shape their futures.

An observational series West Coasters for Whakaata Māori follows a group of Māori living in the South Island who are the protectors of pounamu and the whenua, while Sidelines with the Sugas takes a look at life behind-the-scenes for Pasifika athletes.

Health, wellbeing, gender and sexuality is also tackled with Queer Academy, a documentary series for Re: that’s hosted by comedian James Mustapic and is a ‘joyous exploration’ of everything that’s good about being queer – to show young queer New Zealander’s the value they bring to the world.

For the NZ Herald, TransGenerations is also a documentary series, this time shining a light on the experiences of several high-profile trans rights activists and revealing the struggles and political fights the community has gone through in order to be accepted and able to live authentic lives.

Returning to our screens for a further season are Rural Delivery 2023, the series looking at the science of farming, and Attitude 2023, which continues to provide empowering stories of the 1.1m people in Aotearoa living with disability or chronic ill health.

We also meet another ten wonderful individuals living with various disabilities on Unbreakable 3, following their hurdles, dreams and successes as they work towards achieving their various goals, and see more from Still Here 2, the docu-series profiling millennials from Pasifika families still living in some of Auckland’s most affluent inner-city suburbs.

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