True tales dominate at TV awards

Siege - the story of Napier gunman Jan Molenaar - has won five awards at the New Zealand Television Awards, including Best Actor for Mark Mitchinson, Best Supporting Actress for Miriama Smith and Best One-Off Drama.

Tangiwai - A Love Story and Bliss - The Beginning Of Katherine Mansfield also took away multiple-awards in drama categories already overshadowed by TV One's Sunday Theatre series.

News and Current Affairs awards were dominated by TV3 with eight awards including Best Scheduled News Programme (3 News) and Investigation Of The Year for The Eye Of The Storm - 60 Minutes' investigation into privacy concerns around ACC and the treatment of whistleblower, Bronwyn Pullar. The investigation also won Melanie Reid Journalist Of The Year.

Shows based around comedian/presenter Te Radar did well, with Global Radar winning Best Information Series and Radar Across The Pacific winning Best Factual Series.

Native Affairs' Julian Wilcox won Best Best Or Current Affairs Presenter and Best Presenter: Te Reo Maori. Best Presenter: Entertainment/Factual went to channel-mate Matai Smith for Homai Te Pakipaki

Last year's Best Comedy winners 7 Days lost to fellow TV3 comedy Hounds, which the channel chose not to renew despite critical acclaim.

Highlights of the awards - no longer known as the Aftas since splitting from the film awards earlier this year - will be shown on TV One at 10:30pm Sunday.

*Finalists for the New Zealand Film Awards - The Moas - will be announced on Monday night.

Full list of winners

Best Factual Series
Radar Across the Pacific
Alexander Behse - Zeitgeist Productions (TV ONE)

Best Observational Reality Series
SPCA Rescue - Christchurch Earthquake Special
Megan Jones - Imagination Television (TV ONE)

Best Constructed Reality Series
The Food Truck
James Anderson & Nick Ward - Two Heads (TV ONE)

Best Current Affairs Reporting for a Weekly Programme Or One-Off Current Affairs Special
Mark Crysell & Julie Clothier
Cherry Blossom Tragedy
Sunday (TV ONE)

Best Current Affairs Reporting for a Daily Programme
Gill Higgins & Chris Lynch
Online Predators
Close Up (TV ONE)

Best Director - Entertainment/Factual
Julie Christie
The Block NZ
Eyeworks New Zealand (TV3)

Best Multi-camera Direction
Mitchell Hawkes
Vodafone NZ Music Awards 2011
MediaWorks TV (FOUR)

Best Cinematography Drama/Comedy
David Paul
Tangiwai - A Love Story
Lippy Pictures (TV ONE)

Best News Camera
Phil Johnson
Fiji Floods
3 News (TV3)

Best Current Affairs Camera
Daniel Grade
Horn of Africa Famine
60 Minutes (TV3)

Best Children's/Youth Programme
Let's Get Inventin'
Claire Logan
Luke Nola (TVNZ7)

Best Information Series
Global Radar
Jane Andrews
Jam TV (TV ONE)

Best Entertainment OR Event Programme
Vodafone NZ Music Awards 2011
Arwen O'Connor, Angela Mann
MediaWorks TV (FOUR)

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress
Miriama Smith
Siege
Screentime NZ (TV ONE)

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor
Mick Rose
Tangiwai - A Love Story
Lippy Pictures (TV ONE)

Best Presenter - Entertainment/Factual
Matai Smith
Homai Te Pakipaki
Maori Television

Images & Sound Best Editing Drama/Comedy
Margot Francis
BLISS - the beginning of Katherine Mansfield
MF Films (TV ONE)

Best Original Music
Don McGlashan
BLISS - the beginning of Katherine Mansfield
MF Films (TV ONE)

Best Sound Design
Chris Burt
Siege
Screentime NZ (TV ONE)

Best News Reporting
Duncan Garner & Patrick Gower
Secret Tea Tapes
3 News (TV3)

Best Current Affairs Series
60 Minutes
TV3

Investigation of the Year
Melanie Reid & Eugene Bingham
The Eye of the Storm
60 Minutes (TV3)

Best Director Documentary
Gerard Smyth
When a City Falls - The People's Story
Frank Film (TV3)

Best Cinematography - Documentary/Factual
Simon Baumfield
Shackleton's Captain
Making Movies (TV ONE)

Best Editing - Documentary/Factual
Ken Sparks, Richard Lord
When A City Falls - The People's Story
Frank Film (TV3)

Best Performance by an Actor
Mark Mitchinson
Siege
Screentime NZ (TV ONE)

Best Performance by an Actress
Sara Wiseman
What Really Happened - Votes for Women
Eyeworks New Zealand (TV ONE)

NZ On Air Best One-Off Drama
Siege
Philly de Lacey and Ric Pellizzeri
Screentime NZ (TV ONE)

Best News Editing
Luis Portillo
Fashion
Breakfast (TV ONE)

Best Current Affairs Editing
Bob Grieve
Aftershock
60 Minutes (TV3)

Best Graphics
Vinay Ranchhod
Devil in the Detail (TV ONE)

Best Production Design
John Harding
Tangiwai - A Love Story
Lippy Pictures (TV ONE)

Best Costume Design
Sarah Voon
Go Girls Season 4
South Pacific Pictures (TV2)

Best Make-Up Design
Linda Wall
Tangiwai - A Love Story
Lippy Pictures (TV ONE)

Best Comedy OR Comedy Series
Hounds
thedownlowconcept and Matt McPhail
thedownlowconcept (TV3)

JDA Best Popular Documentary
The Green Chain
Meg Douglas & Kathleen Mantel
Scottie Productions Limited (Maori TV)

Best Feature OR Drama Documentary
Strongman - The Tragedy
Paula McTaggart and Gaylene Preston
A Bigger Picture (TV3)

Kordia Best Coverage Breaking News
ONE News
Carterton Ballooning Tragedy
TV ONE

Best News OR Current Affairs Presenter
Julian Wilcox
Political All In
Native Affairs (Maori TV)

The Langham, Auckland Journalist of the Year
Melanie Reid
The Eye of the Storm
60 Minutes (TV3)

Te Mangai Paho Best Maori Language Programme
Whare Taonga
Meg Douglas
Scottie Productions (Maori TV)

Best Presenter: Te Reo Maori
Julian Wilcox
Native Affairs
Maori Television (Maori TV)

Best Script - Drama/Comedy
John Banas
Siege
Screentime NZ (TV ONE)

Images & Sound Best Director - Drama/Comedy
Fiona Samuel
BLISS - the beginning of Katherine Mansfield
MF Films (TV ONE)

Images & Sound Best Drama Series
Go Girls Season 4
Britta Johnstone & Chris Bailey
South Pacific Pictures (TV2)

Best Scheduled News Programme
3 News
TV3

-nzherald.co.nz