As a dual British Australian citizen, Miriam Margolyes has spent the past 40 years of her life coming and going to her home in Australia that she shares with Heather, her life-partner.
But despite New Zealand’s close proximity, its historic and ongoing cultural, social, and political ties, Miriam’s never explored her country’s closest neighbour. She wonders if she hasn’t been rather remiss – perhaps even a little dismissive – of a country she knows almost nothing about?
Now, Miriam’s been given the opportunity to test her assumptions – and find out what this far-flung country of just over 5 million people is all about.
After being offered a lead role in a new international feature film, produced and shot entirely in New Zealand, it’s Miram’s chance to pursue a long-awaited adventure. A travelogue like no other, she strikes out far beyond the movie set “in search of the real New Zealand, as the locals know it”.
Traversing the very different communities and geographies of New Zealand’s North and South Islands, Miriam will discover a country that’s entirely unique, and shaping its own, very different identity and destiny.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A Southern Pictures production for the ABC, in association with the BBC and Screen NSW. Executive Producer and Series Director: Ariel White. Story and Field Producer: Mary Durham. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julia Hanna. ABC Head of Documentary and Specialist: Susie Jones.
She’ll be hard pressed to do a better job than Griff Rhys Jones did… he was excellent.
But I have to admit, despite not being an MM fan, the promo does look pretty good. I like the premise of ‘what sets our two countries apart?’, that’s a good angle. Because in any comparison between Aotearoa and Australia, the former will always win out.
Miriam Margolyes strikes out across the North Island of New Zealand on a quest to uncover the ‘soul’ of the country.
Acclaimed actor, and self-proclaimed nosy parker, Miriam Margolyes is on her first road trip adventure in New Zealand’s North Island. Starting in the capital Wellington, she’s determined to dig under the skin of what it means to be a ‘Kiwi’ today.
Miriam dives headfirst into her quest for the ‘soul of New Zealand’ and finds herself amongst 30,000 die-hard fans of the national sport, rugby: a game she ‘loathes’. Miriam’s road-trip adventure takes her to the Whanganui River, where in a world-first, the local Māori tribe – or ‘iwi’ – have succeeded in winning legal acknowledgement of the river’s ‘personhood’, in recognition of their spiritual and physical interdependence. She then heads to Hobbiton, confronting her longstanding antipathy of grown-ups living in a ‘fantasy world’.
Continuing her journey on to Auckland, Miriam steps inside her first refugee resettlement centre. Then it’s off to the far north of the North Island, where New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed between the Māori tribes and British colonisers.
For Miriam, the significance of this heritage is made clear when she visits a nearby high school in Panguru, where all the classes are conducted in the Māori language, and the ceremonial Māori dance, the ‘haka’, is a feature of morning assembly.
Her exploration comes full circle as she joins some of New Zealand’s most famous female sports stars, the Black Ferns, and rugby legend Ruby Tui at the team’s training camp in Taupo.
Production credit: A Southern Pictures production for the ABC, in association with the BBC and Screen NSW. Executive Producer and Series Director: Ariel White. Story and Field Producer: Mary Durham. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julia Hanna. ABC Head of Documentaries and Specialist: Susie Jones.
Having uncovered the roots of a unique New Zealand culture, Miriam Margolyes digs deeper beneath the country’s idyllic surface on a mission to better understand the country and its people.
Having uncovered the roots of a unique New Zealand culture, Miriam Margolyes digs deeper beneath the country’s idyllic surface on a mission to better understand the country and its people.
Miriam is back in Wellington, the nation’s capital, for a meeting with the producers of her upcoming film. After reading about the country’s gang problem, the intrepid and ever-curious Miriam tackles the issue head-on, meeting a member of the notorious Mongrel Mob.
Her adventure then takes her across to the South Island, through a rugged and remote landscape of sharply etched mountains and water. Here, Miriam uncovers stories of great strength, tragedy and spirit while visiting Blackball, the historic birthplace of New Zealand’s union movement, where a recent mining disaster has brought intrepid survivors together to drive change.
Weaving her way through some of the country’s highest mountain passes, Miriam also meets local celebrities, from New Zealand’s pavlova queen to protesting farmers.
Her journey of research and discovery ends in Christchurch, the biggest city of the South Island, which has also seen its fair share of hardship and triumph.
Here, Miriam visits the local mosque, which became the focus of international media headlines in March 2019, when a lone Australian gunman went on a shooting rampage. She hears stories of incredible bravery and community solidarity, which provide a final insight into the resilience and spirt of New Zealanders today.
