NHNZ goes large in China

New Zealand-based factual producer NHNZ has added a further four hours of programming about China and Asia to its 2009 development slate.

The first project, currently in pre-production, is a one-hour special about the Sichuan earthquake, which killed almost 70,000 people in the province in May last year. The documentary will be a coproduction with National Geographic Channels and China’s Intercontinental Communication Centre (CICC).

NHNZ will team up with the same coproduction partners on a second one-off about Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which is likely to air as part of the Megastructures franchise.

Two other one-hour docs are being developed specifically for Megastructures. Currently in production, the two programmes focus on modern Chinese architectural accomplishments, including the Canton Tower in Guangzhou.

This new slate follows the announcement of two new shows for NHNZ’s Ancient Man Made Marvels strand, one on Xian Ancient Armoured City and a second on the Leshan Giant Buddha.

NHNZ’s executive VP of development and marketing Neil Harraway said that the company’s current involvement in Asia reflected a decade of relationship building in the region, culminating in its majority acquisition of Singaporean prodco Beach House back in March.

“China and Asia offer a vast repository of stories which the rest of the world is keen to see,” Harraway said. “The team at Beach House have bolstered both our presence in Asia and our production capacity. Their local knowledge and connections makes it a powerful and extremely successful partnership.”