STREAMING ARTS + CULTURE GUIDE Shortland Street, Kura Forrester, 30th Anniversary episode
JUNE 2022 STREAMING GUIDE - LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE LOCALS The New Zealand media landscape is poised for massive change, with local talent, content makers, and diverse audiences being the winners. Expect more local content across more places as the $327 million dollar merger of TVNZ with RNZ is rolled out and additional funding streams come online to support ‘crown funding’. Aotearoa has so many great stories, storytellers, and entertaining creatives that these initiatives are sure to mean we will see ourselves more accurately reflected throughout local (and perhaps international) media platforms and we will surely learn about more of ourselves in the process. It is something Māori Television has strived to do for almost two decades. The broadcaster's recent announcement of a name change to Whakaata Māori is a move to better reflect its role in championing Te Reo Māori and the diverse range of Māori stories and nuance of experiences. WHAKAATA MĀORI AND MĀORI+ Queer and Here
From the moment host Aniwa Whaiapu Koloamatangi speaks, this documentary series draws you in and you are hooked. Very quickly you get the sense that this will be part adventure, part learning journey, and thoroughly authentic. As one of the interviewees comments, “The days of people speaking for others is coming to an end". Aniwa too is on a learning journey, not claiming to know all the answers he gives a voice to a diverse range of people within the LGBTQ+ community. TVNZ ONDEMAND Lego Masters
This is fun reality television, full of colour, creative tension and a lot of lego pieces. There is something very satisfying about building with your own hands and even for those of us who struggle to follow lego instructions, this show is inspiring. The ability of the contestants to design, tell a story and build under pressure is as mind-blowing as what they are able to build. Their constructions are truly a sight to marvel and with lots of tricky conditions and surprises delivered with a smile by Dai Henwood it must be hard for these adults to keep their cool when things literally start to fall apart.
78 PONSONBY NEWS+ June 2022
Shortland Street
Celebrating 30 years on New Zealand screens, Shortland Street is like a true old friend; the kind you don’t see for months or even years, but when you do, you just pick up as if no time has passed. There would be few New Zealanders who have not had a period in their life when Shorty Street wasn’t their regular go-to local show. Its storylines track contemporary issues and local pop culture, filtering and reflecting versions of Aotearoa that will continue to evolve, resonate and be relevant to New Zealand audiences for decades to come. So many of our most talented directors, writers, producers, camera crew, sound engineers, editors and of course actors, have developed and refined their skills during the show’s 30 year history. It has a legacy that can be seen in so many different areas of our entertainment landscape. It has launched many careers and continues to bring to our screens so many talented actors. True to its genre, it’s full of typical soap opera styled characters, but there is something different about them. These globally recognised archetypes are set apart by their local authenticity.
PUBLISHED FIRST FRIDAY EACH MONTH (except January)
