NHNZ celebrated for its contribution to NZ doco industry

4 May 2012

NHNZ celebrated for its contribution to NZ documentary industry

Last night, the Documentary NZ Trust awarded NHNZ the 2012 Outstanding Contribution to the NZ Documentary Industry Award.

The award is recognition of NHNZ’s work; the employment opportunities it offers; the filmmaker-training NHNZ has developed with the University of Otago; and the company’s established international reputation.

NHNZ CEO Michael Stedman is delighted with the award, which is the biggest accolade presented during the Documentary Edge Forum Gala event.

“For all of us here at NHNZ, New Zealand awards are very special and all the more so when they are given by the film and television industry. It is also wonderful to have our work with Otago University recognised. Fostering and growing a new generation of young documentary makers over the last decade has been very rewarding, not only for me personally but also for our company as a whole – with many of the graduates now working for us on international and local productions.”

Neil Harraway, NHNZ’s EVP of marketing and development and a founding member of NHNZ, received the award on behalf of NHNZ last night.

Set up in 2004, The Documentary New Zealand Trust is a non-profit organisation promoting documentary filmmaking and advocating opportunities for New Zealand documentary filmmakers. It hosts the Documentary Edge Festival, which runs through to May 13th in Auckland, and the Documentary Edge Forum - an annual Film, TV and All Media industry event focused on innovative ways to create and fund screen production.

NHNZ

NHNZ is a major global producer of factual television creating over 100 hours each year of original content for National Geographic Channels, Discovery Channels, Smithsonian Channel, A&E Television Networks, 3net and NHK (Japan). Highly regarded for its natural history heritage, which spans over 30 years, NHNZ has more recently branched out to other factual genres, producing hit shows like I Survived for A&E’s Bio Channel. The company’s storytelling prowess has been recognized with more than 300 international awards, including Emmy awards and the prestigious Wildscreen Panda. In addition to its base in Dunedin, New Zealand, NHNZ has offices in Beijing and Washington DC, and a controlling interest in Singapore production company Beach House Pictures and South African-based Aquavision.

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