The film – which raised the ire of National leader Christopher Luxon and Act leader David Seymour in 2022 – had been due for release after the 2023 general election.
That timing – away from the election – was an assurance for NZ on Air as it agreed $199,999 in taxpayer funding in late 2021. The Film Commission agreed to an additional $20,000.
But almost four years on, there is no confirmed release date, for theatres or TV.
The director says hopefully later this year or early 2026; NZ on Air says it will be “delivered” later this year; while Three – which has the TV rights – hasn’t confirmed a date yet.
Looming fast is the 2026 general election, and the inevitable early campaigning in this MMP era – there is no doubt the film is now much closer to voting day in 2026 than originally anticipated. Three says it’s mindful of the “sensitive“ timing.
According to NZ on Air documents in 2021, the film was “set to be released after the 2023 general election with the team envisioning the election result as the logical conclusion to the film’s story arc”.
NZ on Air staff knew the documentary would be risky – “NZ on Air support may be perceived as an endorsement of a politician and/or political agenda”, according to the document.
However, the merits – including the producers’ previous work on a short film about Swarbrick, the quality of the proposal, and the “significant” national and international interest in the MP – outweighed the perceived risks, according to NZ on Air.
“Staff is reassured that as the narrative concludes with the election result, the film will be released after the 2023 election and will not be perceived to influence the result.”
Luxon and Seymour expressed concerns about the documentary back in 2022, questioning why public money was being spent on a documentary about a sitting MP.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” said Luxon at the time.
And Seymour also said at the time: “Chlöe Swarbrick needs to do the right thing and decline to be part of this. If she lacks the judgment to decline this, Swarbrick should declare it as an election advertisement”.
Swarbrick’s position
Swarbrick’s office reiterated this week that the film, the delays and its funding were outside of her control.
In a statement to Media Insider, Swarbrick said: “I am generally very careful about my private life in the public arena because I’m acutely aware of how that can impact the people I love and who are close to me.
“Several years ago, I agreed to this project because I thought if I was going to say yes to any media digging into my life and the experience of politics, it may as well be as fulsome and contextual as possible.
“I don’t have anything to do with it beyond having had to accommodate cameras around at random times in the last several years, so you’d need to talk to the people making it for answers to the questions regarding making it, timing and the rest.
“As to how I feel about it, honestly, I’m terrified as to how it may turn out. If you knew there was the better part of a decade of your life on camera and someone else was in charge of how that ends up being presented, let alone how other people will interpret it, wouldn’t you be?”
‘Unavoidable’ delay
The reasons for the film’s delay are a mystery – no one is saying why, specifically.
A NZ on Air spokeswoman told Media Insider this week: “We have no concerns about the delay, which has been unavoidable”.
Asked what had caused the delay, she said: “It is the nature of observational documentaries that they are dictated by what is happening in the subject’s life and often the story morphs and changes with these circumstances.
“Sometimes you have to hang in for longer to get a resolution to a story arc that you might not have envisaged at the outset of production.”
She said delivery of the film was “now projected to be towards the end of this year”.
So far, about 75% of the $199,999 of public funding had been paid out, she said. That equates to about $150,000.
NZ on Air’s approval of the $199,999 was subject to the full production budget being raised. The total cost of the film has not been disclosed.
While she is the subject of the film, and took part in it, Swarbrick was neither involved in the funding application nor the NZ on Air decision. Neither has she been paid for her appearance.
The NZ on Air document in 2021 outlines the synopsis of the film: It “follows New Zealand’s youngest MP Chlöe Swarbrick through to the next general election – exploring both her political and personal life”.
NZ on Air described it as an observational documentary and quoted the proposal of a chronicle of ”the highs, lows and difficulties of being an openly gay, polarising but immensely popular, millennial politician” as opposed to a hagiography.
The film was originally titled Being Chlöe, and was an extension of the earlier short film called OK Chlöe, which was funded in part by NZ on Air and screened on nzherald.co.nz and other platforms in 2020 as part of the Loading Docs short documentary series.
The film’s director, Charlotte Evans, told Media Insider this week that the name of the full-length film had changed from Being Chlöe. She would not reveal the new name.
She said that the film was in post-production editing.
When asked about NZ on Air’s $199,999 funding, Evans said: “I haven’t actually earned a cent from the whole production. I’ve been working for free for six years. I think if you knew anything about documentaries, it’s a labour of love. You don’t earn any money out of them”.
She said the film “should be finished soon”.
“I’m looking forward to everyone seeing it when it’s finally finished, but as I’m sure you’re aware, these sorts of projects take a really long time, especially when there’s not a lot of budget involved … [it’s] a bit of a slow process.”
She was excited about its release.
“Long-form observational documentaries take a long time. We just want to get it right.”
Asked if she thought there would be concerns about its timing with the 2026 general election now on the horizon, she said: “I think you could ask these questions of my producer if you want, but we will be making sure that that doesn’t happen”.
She referred other questions to producer Letisha Tate-Dunning, who did not respond to messages.
The NZ on Air document in 2021 stated: “Should this production be funded, the [production] team is requesting a name change for any press release stating that ‘we’d prefer that any media attention from the documentary announcement doesn’t focus on Chlöe or get in the way of her normal political or private life. Such attention would also make it harder for us to film’.”
NZ on Air discussed that internally and said for transparency purposes, it would not change the name in any press release.
Tate-Dunning told RNZ in 2022 that NZ on Air, the Green Party, and Swarbrick had no editorial control of the film.
“The producers want to make the film because they feel it’s important to show the reality of working within politics and how a young woman reconciles this with what and who is important to her,” Tate-Dunning said.
“It’s not the first time a sitting MP has been featured in a NZ on Air-funded programme.”
On the political controversy about the movie, she said at the time: “I think what it does reveal is that there is some serious discussions to be had about the impact of the media and social media trolling on the mental health of MPs”.
Broadcaster’s position
The NZ on Air spokeswoman said this week that as part of any funding contract, the agency received regular producer reports. This had been the case with the Swarbrick film.
She said scheduling of the film would be determined by the platform, Warner Bros Discovery, owner of Three.
“NZ broadcast platforms understand the requirements around political content in the lead up to an election.”
A spokeswoman for Three told Media Insider: “Our commissioning team has been in regular contact with the producers of this documentary throughout its production.
“We prioritise quality of content and will wait until the documentary is complete rather than rushing to screen something not fully finished.
“With a theatrical release scheduled before our broadcast window, we’re unable to confirm a date at this time.
“We’re also mindful of the sensitive timing ahead of the election and will work closely with the producers to ensure regulatory compliance. At this stage, there is no confirmed change to the documentary’s title.”
Watch: NZ v Oz favourite ads
New Zealand and Australia’s most popular video and TV ads have been revealed – at least as decided by a poll of 1000 people in each country.
Topping the New Zealand list for the first time in The Research Agency’s bi-annual poll is the latest Tina from Turners advertisement. Previous ‘Tina’ ads had peaked at number two.
For the first time since December 2023, ads from ASB (Ben and Amy) and ANZ (The Sharma family) had been toppled from the number-one position, TRA said.
TRA partner Colleen Ryan said: “New Zealanders clearly respond to advertising that entertains and builds on familiar characters or narratives. Humour continues to be a powerful creative shortcut to connection, and when brands combine this with distinctive brand assets and consistency over time, they’re reaping the rewards, seeing strong cut-through.”
In Australia, an animated ad for insurance company Allianz – featuring an egg-cradling finch and heroic eagle – has topped that country’s TRA poll.
And while that ad has hit Australians in the ‘feels’, it did come with a warning from TRA.
It said nearly half of respondents could vividly describe the ad, but they did not mention the brand behind it.
“This disconnect between emotional engagement and brand recognition presents an important and nuanced takeaway for brand marketers,” said TRA business director Alex Forrester.
“It takes time to build connection and recall, but this campaign has overcome the biggest hurdle – it has captured attention. And we can already see the makings of distinctive assets with the eagle being cast as the ‘hero’ and bringing the logo to life. Providing Allianz commit to the creative idea, we can see this campaign only getting stronger with the benefit of time.”
Top 10 favourite ads
New Zealand
Australia
One Good Poll
Now you can have your say, how does Aussie’s best ad (watch it above) measure up against the top three Kiwi ads?
MediaWorks to rebrand?
New Zealand’s outdoor advertising landscape is in for a big shake-up, with the announcement this week that MediaWorks has won all of the highly prized contracts to look after advertising on Auckland Transport’s buses, trains, bus shelters, billboards and train stations.
The long-awaited – and delayed – decision involves four contracts valued at a speculated $350 million over the next 10 years.
Most focus will now be on the future prospects of another outdoor advertising company, Oohmedia, which had been one of AT’s incumbent agencies, and whether MediaWorks – which operates a suite of entertainment radio stations alongside its outdoor advertising business – now rebrands itself to QMS.
QMS is the Australian outdoor media company that owns 100% of MediaWorks, having taken full control in June.
QMS has a similar big-ticket outdoor advertising contract across the Ditch, operating the City of Sydney digital street furniture network.
It seems a no-brainer – especially for the QMS/MediaWorks sales teams – that the MediaWorks name be retired so that they can sell a united voice and brand to trans-Tasman clients.
Even QMS and MediaWorks chairman Barclay Nettlefold indicated as much in the official press statement: “With the growing trend towards trans-Tasman trading, our shared expertise between QMS and MediaWorks will provide greater opportunities for our media agency partners and their clients to plan and buy across both markets”.
Oohmedia’s new focus
So while the champagne corks will have been popping at MediaWorks and QMS, AT’s moves are a blow for Oohmedia.
The Australian-listed company – which has a strong base and history in New Zealand – has held the AT contract for bus shelters for more than 20 years.
Oohmedia told the ASX this week that while it was “disappointed” with the outcome, it had “planned for this eventuality and is confident in maintaining a leading position in the New Zealand out-of-home market”.
Financial records show Oohmedia recorded a $13.52 million profit after tax in New Zealand in 2024, up from $10.71m the previous year.
This came on the back of a $3.83m increase in revenue to $68.085m – another signal of the outdoor advertising industry’s broader, positive performance in the New Zealand media market in recent years.
Just how much of a financial hit will Oohmedia take as a result of the AT moves?
Because of the delays in awarding the new contracts, Oohmedia will still have the benefit of nine months of its existing AT deal in 2025. But 2026 will be a different story.
According to Oohmedia, the Auckland contract represents just 4% of its overall reported revenue in Australia and New Zealand of $A635.6m ($696m).
Based on those figures that represents about $27.84m in revenue – or about 40% of the 2024 New Zealand revenue of $68.085m.
Oohmedia is understood to have about 65 staff in New Zealand. Time will tell if it has to undertake any restructuring to save costs.
The company has told shareholders it has been preparing for the scenario of losing the AT contract. This is likely to mean key roles have been left vacant, and that the company has also been pursuing other contracts.
Because of the longstanding nature of the AT contract, the margins Oohmedia has enjoyed for more than two decades are unlikely to be the same in future for MediaWorks.
In a statement, Oohmedia NZ general manager Nick Vile said it had been a “pleasure” to work with Auckland Transport for more than 24 years.
“Auckland Transport was a highly contested contract; as part of our considered and measured commercial strategy, we must focus on contracts that deliver shareholder value, optimal audience reach and attributable outcomes for our advertising partners.”
He said the company would continue with a “diversified network strategy” with new Auckland and national opportunities.
“We also continue to represent our 370+ retail panels within Auckland alone, plus Locky Docks providing continued coverage and opportunities for advertisers to reach audiences …”
AT paid tribute to Oohmedia this week, thanking it for its “vital role” over the past two decades in building the company’s advertising assets and “much-valued” bus shelters.
As part of the new outdoor contract arrangements, AT earlier purchased those bus shelter assets from OohMedia for an undisclosed price.
AT chief financial officer Mark Laing said Oohmedia had managed bus stop advertising as part of the “street furniture” portfolio for more than 20 years and “helped AT build what has become the largest portfolio of its kind in New Zealand”.
Former MediaWorks CEO’s share sale
Before we leave the outdoor advertising industry this week, there has been one other deal behind the scenes.
QMS, which had previously owned 54.41% of MediaWorks, acquired US hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management’s 45.13% stake in April, leaving it with 99.54% of the company.
Companies Office records show QMS has also acquired that final 0.46% of the business – shares owned by former MediaWorks boss and respected aviation executive Cam Wallace.
Wallace, formerly with Air New Zealand, is now one of the top executives at Qantas in Sydney, as chief executive of Qantas International and Freight.
Companies Office records from late June show the transaction involved 3,045,691 shares owned by Wallace. He was also no longer a shareholder of the company, according to the notice.
Beacons winners
Congratulations to all the big winners from last night’s Beacon Awards at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.
Lassoo Media & PR was named media agency of the year, Stuff the media business of the year and Sky TV’s sales team was awarded sales team of the year.
MBM won the prized ‘best in show’ for its work with Vogel’s and Goodman Fielder, ‘Certified Toast Perfection’.
“Our international panel of judges felt that this campaign stood out by identifying a new media opportunity where consumer relevance was at its peak, coupled with flawless execution,” said the Comms Council, organiser of the advertising awards showcase.
PHD’s James Davidson won this year’s ‘inspiring individual’ award, in honour of Sandy Smith, with a video describing his empathy, patience and tireless mentorship.
In categories awards across the evening, there were 10 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze winners.
The big winners
Best in show: MBM, Goodman Fielder – Certified Toast Perfection (Vogel’s)
Media agency of the year: Lassoo Media & PR
Media business of the year: Stuff
Sales team of the year: Sky TV
Inspiring individual: James Davidson, PHD
Gold medal winners
Fast moving consumer goods: MBM, Goodman Fielder – Certified Toast Perfection (Vogel’s)
Financial services: Initiative, ASB – Scam Update: Training a Nation to Fight Back
Content: OMD NZ, Kiwibank – On The Ladder with Kiwibank; Spark Foundry, Lexus – Amazing Replays
Technology: MBM, Dulux – Dulux: Live from Aotearoa
Creative media idea: MBM, Goodman Fielder – Certified by Vogel’s; PHD, Pak’nSave – Pak’nRave
Communications strategy: FCB, Flight Centre – The Original Influence
Best collaboration: OMD NZ, 2degrees – Reshaping Rugby
DEI community engagement: OMD NZ, 2degrees – Reshaping Rugby
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
Watch Media Insider – The Podcast on YouTube, or listen to it on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
