WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL
Janet Frame

Based on the best-selling biography by Michael King of the same title published in 2000, this documentary introduces us to New Zealand's most illustrious author through her friends and associates. It describes Janet Frame's childhood and early years, and her journey through the primitive world of New Zealand's psychiatric institutions in the 1940s and '50s. Her eventual release led her to meet NZ writer Frank Sargeson, who encouraged her to write her critically acclaimed first novel "Owls Do Cry". Frame later travelled to the UK, where she found freedom from her psychiatric diagnosis through a psychologist who gave her the confidence to live in the world as a dedicated writer.

While Janet Frame shunned public life, she maintained strong friendships with family and friends. In this documentary we meet some of the people who were fundamental to her career as a writer and to her private life — the 'angels' at her 'table'. Michael King provides an objective and entertaining overview of her life to age 40 (King's untimely death in March 2005 meant that this was the last interview he gave).

A unique insight into Janet Frame's world, personality and achievements.

OUR PEOPLE OUR CENTURY

This award-winning series of 6 programmes on a set of 3 DVDs tells the story of New Zealand and its people throughout the 20th century. The series covers the major events, personalities and dramas of this century, told through the lives and experiences of families who have struggled, prospered and survived through decades of momentous change: Maori, Pakeha and new immigrants; rich, poor and in-between.

Episode 1: In the Family Way — the century began dominated by puritanism and religion. Marriage was for life, children were seen and not heard, and boozing and gambling were widely despised. The 1960s counter-culture and sexual revolution turned this world upside down. Churches are emptier, marriage is much less permanent, the roles of men and women have merged, and we live in an age of individualism and lifestyle choice.

Episode 2: A Piece of Land — New Zealanders have always dreamed of standing on their turangawaewae, a piece of land of their own. Yet most of us no longer work on farms or live in small rural towns. 100 years ago we did, when the entire country survived by producing meat, wool, butter and cheese.

Episode 3: Cradle to the Grave — for much of the twentieth century, state support in health, education, welfare and housing has been part of the 'Kiwi way'. From the 1930s on this was the government's response to the widely held wishes of the people. But radical reforms in the 1980s reflect the political tensions which have always existed between the demands for individual opportunity and the idea of a wider social contract.

Episode 4: Families at War — we are a nation that has been scarred, physically and psychologically, by war. Our young men and women have gone to the world wars, fought in Asia, and now peacekeep around the world. Their families have held the home front together and welcomed them back as heroes. But standing against this is a long tradition of opposing war, which reached its peak in the anti-Vietnam and anti-nuclear protest movements.

Episode 5: Winning and Losing — this is a country of boom and bust. At mid-century we thought we lived in 'Godzone', where society was classless, there were jobs for all, and making a buck was easy. But at the beginning of the century work and commerce was harder — and it's becoming so again. Are we coming full circle — are the rich getting richer, while the poor seem doomed to stay poor?

Episode 6: Being a Kiwi — this is a country people have come to from other lands. Centuries after Maori settlement the English, Scots and Irish flooded in, and other nationalities followed suit. Maori culture came under threat. But by the end of the 20th century Maoridom is in full renaissance and some talk of a new 'Pacific' society. We see ourselves as 'Kiwis', but the stresses of creating a distinctly New Zealand culture are far from over.

NZTV AWARD WINNER: Best Factual Series

PACIFIC RESCUE

The story of the largest ever sea rescue in the South Pacific — of those who fought for their lives and the heroic deeds of those who rescued them.
June 1994: a rogue storm officially called a 'bomb' hits the South Pacific. It rages for 3 gruelling days, causing terror, destruction and tragedy.
40 vessels and aircraft become involved. 21 people are plucked from the raging seas. A family of 3 is lost.
This is the story of that ordeal: of the endurance of those who survived and the heroism of those on land, in the air and at sea who took part in Pacific Rescue.

US INTERNATIONAL FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL: 1st Place Award Winner

DESTINATION DISASTER
The Sinking of the Mikhail Lermontov

February 16th 1986: the Soviet cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov, carrying 738 passengers and crew, sank in the Marlborough Sounds, though all passengers were safely rescued. Three countries held enquiries into the tragedy, for which an experienced New Zealand pilot was blamed. While he went unpunished, members of the Russian crew were imprisoned.

The story of the sinking remains a huge controversy, but the most compelling viewing comes with the emotional reflection of the passengers who fought for their lives and the heroes who worked day and night to rescue them. The ensuing investigation features a multinational cast of charcters from St Petersburg to the High Court of Australia, and into the small community of Picton, in New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds.

QANTAS MEDIA AWARD WINNER for Best Television Documentary

FLIGHT 703
The Survivors

The gripping story of the 15-hour rescue operation which saved 18 people from the crash of regular commuter Flight 703. Rescuers, ambulance staff, police and helicopter pilots tell of their desperation to find the survivors, lost and freezing on the top of a mountain, for nearly an hour. In one of NZ history's most intense phone calls, survivor William McGrory and Air Traffic Controller Tony Chapman spent a harrowing 35 minutes desperately trying to pinpoint where the wreckage lay, while helicopters buzzed around overhead. Despite having suffered a broken vertebra William, with Tony's guidance, was able to send other able bodied survivors on a search for landmarks and ask the injured to listen for the rescue choppers.

Individual stories of miraculous survival, heroism and tragedy emerge through the telling of this amazing tale.

THE PROMISE
Sir Tristram's Story

The remarkable story of the world's most famous stud stallion Sir Tristram and his partnership with the New Zealand studmaster Patrick Hogan. The personalities, stories and history of an extraordinary horse and his dedicated owner are told through filming at Patrick Hogan's Cambridge Stud, with Patrick Hogan, stablemaster and handlers, syndicate shareholders and owners and trainers of Sir Tristram's offspring, and archival film from Ireland, France and England.