Funding body NZ On Air pumps $6.4m into factual content looking at social issues

New Zealand funding body NZ On Air has provided just under NZ$10.4m (US$6.4m) of funding for factual projects that spotlight important social issues in the country.

Amie Mills

The projects receiving funding include The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes, which explores the realities of living with dementia and is based on a show of the same name that aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2019.

Produced by Great Southern Television for TVNZ 1, it is described as a social experiment that follows the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a group of 12 volunteers experiencing dementia who come together to run a restaurant.

Unravelling Anxiety, meanwhile, delves into the topic of extreme anxiety in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and is produced by Digital Alchemist for NZ Herald.

Elsewhere, The Scott Base Rebuild: Building the Future on Ice is a four-part architectural/building documentary series that will follow the design and build of the scientific base’s future-proofed ice hub in Antarctica, a world-first construction project. It is produced by Imagination Television for TVNZ 1.

Returning series receiving funding include Match Fit 3, from Pango Productions for Three; Designing Dreams, produced by Imagination Television for Prime; Hyundai Country Calendar 2023, made by Television New Zealand for TVNZ 1; A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters, made by E2 Productions for Prime; and Down for Love, produced by Attitude Pictures for TVNZ 2.

Amie Mills, NZ On Air’s head of funding, said the content “recognises the new world we live in” and “will start conversations.”

“This content plays such an important part in reflecting our communities and the changes that have taken place for all sectors and age groups within our society. It’s shining a light on topics that deserve deeper discussion and at a time of immense global shift,” said Mills.