Documentary

British actor James Nesbitt will act as a tour guide for UK viewers in a new documentary exploring New Zealand.

The Hobbit actor will feature in a 60-minute documentary for UK’s ITV that will show-off his adopted homeland of New Zealand.

Nesbitt has spent extended periods of time in the country during filming of The Hobbit, in which he plays the dwarf Bofur.

Here’s the press release from ITV:

James Nesbitt will guide ITV viewers around his adopted homeland of New Zealand for a brand new factual documentary. Continue reading »

Kiwis will get the opportunity to watch the much-hyped Beyonce documentary from HBO in cinemas.

BBC worldwide announced today that the documentary, which aired on HBO to 1.8 million viewers, will premiere at cinemas across New Zealand and Australia.

The documentary will premiere on Wednesday 8th May for one night only on 73 screens across Australia and New Zealand. The screenings will take place at Hoyts and Event Cinemas New Zealand. Continue reading »

Maori Television has lined up a range of award-winning films and documentaries from around the world for its new season.

Maori Television is excited to present its new season of films and documentaries from New Zealand and around the world. Starting in April, the top line-up of new and award-winning works will be broadcast every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tuesday Festival Documentaries premiere on April 9 at 8.30pm with The Cove, the Academy Award winner for Best Documentary in 2009, which follows a team of activists, filmmakers and free-divers as they embark on a mission to penetrate Japan’s dolphin hunting culture. Continue reading »

A new fund has been announced by NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission that will focus on feature-length documentaries for TV, cinema and online.

NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission are announcing a new documentary fund for feature-length documentaries.

It is expected that this new collaboration between the two organisations will invest in at least five quality documentary projects to screen in cinemas, on television and online.

It will focus on funding one-off documentaries from experienced New Zealand documentary filmmakers. There are no restrictions on treatment or style. Continue reading »

ARTS CHANNEL – Friday 25 January, 9.20pm

She was beautiful, smart, and searching. He was an emerging genius in the world of photography. When they met, they fell instantly in love. Setting off across the West with camera and typewriter in the depths of the Great Depression, Charis Wilson and Edward Weston transformed photography, and each other. Now age 90, Charis Wilson recounts her years with Weston with great humour, candour, and some regret. Combining insight from leading scholars, rare archival images, and convincingly authentic re-enactments, Eloquent Nude presents a remarkable true story of love and loss, travel and adventure, and an intimate look at the making of Modern photography.

ARTS CHANNEL – Friday 25 January, 6.55pm

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These concepts were important enough for the Declaration of Independence but what exactly does the pursuit of happiness really mean? Filmmaker Andrew Shapter set about answering that question through a coast-to-coast journey resulting in the critically acclaimed documentarian’s latest film, Happiness Is. Happiness. Like art or love, it’s hard to define but we know it when we see it. This documentary is eye opening.

ARTS CHANNEL – Thursday 24 January, 9.25pm

Jo Whiley talks to Scottish musician and philanthropist Annie Lennox about the humanitarian causes close to her heart. The Eurythmics singer/song-writer is an acclaimed musician – having won 8 Brit Awards, 4 Grammys and selling in excess of 80 million records worldwide – but she is also a political and social activist that has strived to raise money and awareness for HIV charities in Africa. In response to her activist work, in 2011 she received an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II for her “tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes”.

CRIME & INVESTIGATION – Wednesday 23 January, 9.30pm

The testimony of a woman who’s been lying all her life. At the age of 30 Emily Horne has been married five times – but she never bothered to get divorced. In her wake she’s left a string of confused husbands and lovers. She’s worked in the porn industry and as an escort. She’s served one jail sentence for bigamy. She was recently on trial again for the same offence. This giddy mix of sex, deceit and betrayal is a tabloid editor’s dream. But behind the lurid headlines is a darker tale of mental illness, addiction and neglect. Emily says she wants to be in a film in order to present the truth about herself. But does she? Her version of the truth is wildly at odds with that of the husbands, lovers and family members who appear in the film.

THE HISTORY CHANNEL – Tuesday 22 January, 8.30pm

For a generation, Malcolm and Donald Campbell, father and son, dominated the struggle to be the fastest man alive. This is the story of two men who wanted to shatter records and venture where none had gone before. But were their motivations really that similar? Malcolm Campbell began by repeatedly breaking land speed records, going ever faster, fuelled by new technology developed during the Great War. His young son Donald watched, as his father became famous in an age when the media respected celebrity. Malcolm was hailed as a national hero. It is said that by the time Donald began breaking records he had to cope with a harsher media, prone to knocking down heroes and questioning their motives. After Malcolm’s death in 1949 Donald vowed to step into his father’s shoes and continue to pursue the dream.

ANIMAL PLANET – Mondays from 21 January, 9.30pm

Cat behaviourist Jackson Galaxy returns for a new season of My Cat From Hell to take on the most catastrophic cat cases anyone ever has encountered. For the first time, Galaxy is taking his cat-listening skills on the road to New York City. Armed with more than 15 years of experience, a proven training program and his signature guitar case filled with cat toys, Galaxy is on a mission to help cat owners find the sources of conflict with their furry friends.