For immediate release July 19 2006
Emmy Nominations for Two NHNZ Series
Dunedin-based production company NHNZ has topped off a great year with a total of four Emmy™ nominations for two of
their biggest series.
Buggin’ with Ruud and Equator are strong contenders for Emmy™ awards – American television’s highest accolade – after
both received nominations in two categories.
For Equator: Power of an Ocean, a co-production with Discovery HD Theatre and NHK, the team of Joseph Portecorvo, Andrew
Penniket, Jeanie Ackley, Brady Doak and Edward Jowett is nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft:
Cinematography. Also for Equator: Power of an Ocean, Trevor Coleman, Adrian Kubala and Errol Samuelson have been
nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music and Sound.
For Buggin’ With Ruud (Madagascar), a commission for Animal Planet, Trevor Coleman, Richard Fiocca, Myungsoo Shin, Peter
Hayden, Mick Kaczorawski, Mervyn Aitchison, Stacey Hertnon, Dick Reade and Craig Watson make up the sound and music team
nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music and Sound. And Paul Henry will take the award if
Buggin’ With Ruud wins the category for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography.
The company is thrilled with the nominations says managing director Michael Stedman.
“The teams involved always knew they were making something special. “Buggin’ With Ruud and Equator are two unique and
wonderful series. They are stylistically different from each other, but what they have in common are great stories,
great scripts, wonderful research and brilliant craftsmanship. They are further proof of NHNZ’s ability to produce
world-leading, high quality, entertaining, television for a wide international audience.”
Both Buggin and Equator have already enjoyed awards success. Both series won medals at the 2006 New York Festivals, and
Equator is a finalist at this year’s Wildscreen Festival.
NHNZ is no stranger to Emmy™ success. In 1999 Ian McGee won the award for Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Writing
for Twisted Tales: The Bat, and was nominated again in the same category the following year for Twisted Tales: The Rat.
Ian was also nominated in 2002 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Graphic and Artistic Design for the
programme Most Extreme: Jumpers.
In 2000 filmmaker Mike Single won the Emmy™ for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography for his
work on the NHNZ film The Crystal Ocean.
NHNZ is one of the world’s leading producers of factual programming embracing the genres of nature, health, science,
adventure, and people. With over 70 programmes currently in production, its crews work in locations around the world to
produce a diversity of films for international broadcasters including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, BSkyB,
National Geographic Channel, HGTV, France 5, NHK in Japan and ZDF and Kabel One in Germany. Based in Dunedin, New
Zealand, the company is wholly owned by Fox Television Studios.
ENDS