Five stories of voyage navigate our past

14 May 2019

Five stories of voyage navigate our past and inform our future

Five thought-provoking new projects exploring stories of voyage are among the latest Factual projects to win NZ On Air funding.

NZ On Air received 11 applications in its May funding round in response to a special request for proposals to mark Tuia 250, a national commemoration acknowledging 250 years since the first sustained onshore meetings between Māori and Europeans.

Four projects have been supported, adding an important collection of diverse voices and perspectives to wider media coverage.

The supported projects include live coverage of the Tuia 250 ki Tūranga festival to ensure New Zealanders everywhere can observe this landmark occasion, and another which embraces honest discussions about racism in Aotearoa today.

The live coverage on TVNZ 1 will focus on the centrepiece of the Tuia 250 ki Tūranga festival, the arrival of a flotilla of vessels in Tūranga (Gisborne) that will then embark on a national voyage around Aotearoa.

“NZ On Air is proud to be supporting projects that will encourage New Zealanders to reflect on and discuss our dual-heritage and voyaging traditions,” says NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson.

“Navigating the waters of our shared history can be choppy, but we hope that the different perspectives provided in these projects will offer New Zealanders the opportunity to speak openly and honestly about the past and future,” she continued.

A further project supported in this round, Loimata – Sweet Tears, is a feature-length documentary that tells the story of master sailor and traditional waka builder Ema Siope and her end-of-life journey to heal her family after systemic abuse.

Funding details

Tuia 250 content

Tuia 250 Live, 1 x 180 mins, Pango Productions for TVNZ 1 & Māori Television, up to $591,195. A live broadcast of the Tuia 250 ki Tūranga Festival, presented by John Campbell and Stacey Morrison.

Waka, 6 x 12 mins, Tawera Productions for E-Tangata & NZ Herald, up to $157,600.Four master carvers build four waka of their traditional style to welcome the Tuia 250 Flotilla when they arrive at Waitangi, our nation’s birthplace.

Re: discovering Aotearoa, 8 x 8 mins video content + 8 x 35 mins podcast, TVNZ for Re: up to $78,025. A multimedia series looking at how modern relationships mirror our nation’s first meeting of cultures and what we can learn from that for our shared future.

After White Guilt, 7 x 6 mins, Nia Phipps for NZ Herald, up to $139,452. A 7-part web-series telling the stories of New Zealanders who are reflecting on their colonial heritage, and how to take action against racism in Aotearoa.

General Factual

Loimata – Sweet Tears, 1 x 90 mins, Anna Marbrook Productions for Māori Television, up to $180,000. The story of traditional waka builder and ocean captain Ema Siope who in the final months of her life seeks to heal her family from systemic abuse that has thwarted their half century of migration.

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