New Zealand film and television awards

New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2016, New Zealand only has a film awards - the Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards.

History

Early Years

The first New Zealand television awards were the National TV Awards, which ran from 1964-1965, organised by the New Zealand Television Workshop. The trophy was designed by noted sculptor Greer Twiss.^[1]

From 1970-1985, the New Zealand Feltex Awards honoured New Zealand television, sponsored by carpet manufacturer Feltex.^[2]

GOFTA Awards

The Feltex Awards were superseded by annual awards organised by the Guild of Film and Television Arts (GOFTA). The awards ran from 1986 to 2003 and were known by a number of different titles, including the GOFTA Awards. The awards were run as joint film and television awards until 2000 when they were split into two separate ceremonies.^[3]

The 1987 GOFTA Awards,^[4] presented by American TV personality Leeza Gibbons and New Zealand radio host Nic Nolan, is known for its disastrous presentation, including a disruptive audience who heckled guest John Inman, and confusing stage management.^[5]

The GOFTA Awards ended in 2003 due to lack of sponsorship. There were no awards presented in 2004.

Qantas Television Awards and New Zealand Screen Awards

In 2005, the Qantas Television Awards (honouring television and television journalism) and the New Zealand Screen Awards (honouring film and television) were founded as the new award presentations. The Qantas Television Awards were run by the New Zealand Television Broadcasters Council (now known as ThinkTV).^[6] These awards celebrated television productions and also incorporated the television media categories that had previously been part of the Qantas Media Awards.^[7] The New Zealand Screen Awards were run by the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand and celebrated both film and television productions, including some overlap with Qantas Television Awards categories.^[8]

In 2008 the Qantas Television Awards merged with the New Zealand Screen Awards.^[9] From 2008 to 2011, the NZTBC and the SDGNZ jointly ran the Qantas Film and Television Awards. These awards were renamed the Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (abbreviated to AFTA) in 2011.^[10]

New Zealand Television Awards and Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards

In 2012 the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand announced that due to funding and resource restraints it would not be involved with the 2012 AFTAs and would not organise an alternate film industry awards that year.^[11][12]

ThinkTV renamed the new television-focused awards the New Zealand Television Awards for 2012.^[13] However, in early 2013, ThinkTV announced that it would no longer hold the New Zealand Television Awards, after partner TVNZ decided not to support the awards. This left New Zealand without an annual television award.^[14]

Later in 2012, an alternative film awards presentation was announced, independent of the SDGNZ. The Sorta Unofficial New Zealand Film Awards - also known as the Moas - were organised by film industry figure Ant Timpson and nzherald.co.nz online entertainment editor Hugh Sundae.^[15] In 2013 the Moas were renamed the Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards. As there were no television awards in 2013, the 2013 Moas had one television award, honouring Best Television Feature or Drama Series.^[16]

In addition to sponsoring the Best Score and Best Sound categories at the New Zealand Film Awards since 2013, in 2014 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) introduced two film music awards to its annual Silver Scroll Awards: APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award and APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award.^[17]

The New Zealand Film Awards were not held in 2015, with organisers saying a lack of films released that year made it hard to justify holding the awards. It is planned that the next award show will be held in mid 2016 to include a larger range of eligible films.^[18]

Awards

External links

• The Listener Gofta Awards 1987
• Aotearoa Film & Television Awards
• New Zealand Television Awards
• Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards
• Kiwi TV - New Zealand television awards

References