Colourful line up of programmes get the green light

Colourful line up of programmes get the green light

A nostalgic journey back to New Zealand of a by-gone era captured in amateur film footage, and more beautiful and awe-inspiring journeys through our oceans are just two of the colourful new documentary projects to secure NZ On Air funding.

Decades In Colour is a new three-part series to screen on Prime that will bring together never-before-broadcast amateur colour footage, official records and interviews to portray social change through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

The highly-acclaimed Platinum documentary series Our Big Blue Backyard, produced by NHNZ, will return for a second series. This time viewers are taken to the farthest reaches of our oceans – up to the Kermadecs and down to the icy waters of Antarctica.

The plight of Wanganui man Antony de Malmanche will be the subject of a one-off documentary in Til Death Do Us Part. Incarcerated in a Bali prison and potentially facing the death penalty for drug trafficking, he claims he was lured to Asia by a woman he met on the internet.

“Many things have changed in the media environment since NZ On Air began funding local content 25 years ago, but one thing remains the same – the need for New Zealand’s stories to be told in our own authentic voice,” says NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson. “Our job is to ensure programmes on our screens embrace the diversity of our nation – we think these programmes do just that.”

Also supported in this round is a new comedy series to provide a home for stand-up comedy on TV. Chopper’s Line Up for TV3 will give new comedy talent a break, with stand-up slots alongside international talent. It’s to be hosted by comedian Heath Franklin in his Chopper persona.

And young musicians will have their moment in the spotlight with funding again to televise Smokefree Rockquest 2015.

Funding details

Our Big Blue Backyard 2, 6 x 1hr, NHNZ for TV One, $2,066,927
Decades in Colour, 3 x 1 hr, Greenstone TV for Prime, $580,060
Smokefree Rockquest 2015, 4 x ½ hr plus 1 x 1hr, Commotion for FOUR, $319,050
Til Death Do Us Part, 1 x 1hr, Pan Pacific Films for TV3, $195,000
Chopper’s Line Up, 6 x ½ hr, Hikoi NZ for TV3, $90,080

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