Ambitious TV drama heads nominations

The cast of TV's drama The Insider's Guide to Happiness which is a frontrunner for several New Zealand Screen Awards.

An offbeat drama scooped the most TV nominations at the New Zealand Screen Awards, announced last night.

TV2's The Insider's Guide to Happiness is up for 11 awards, including best drama series, performance by an actress (Sophia Hawthorne) performance by an actor (Will Hall and Ben Barrington) and achievement in directing drama/comedy (Mark Beesley).

When the winners are announced on July 27, they will be the first TV accolades since the demise of the AFTA Film and Television Awards in 2003.

The new awards, organised by the Screen Directors Guild, will also acknowledge the country's best films, to be handed out every second year.

TV One's soap opera satire Serial Killers received seven nominations, including performance by an actress (Robyn Malcolm), performance by an actor (John Leigh), best comedy script (James Griffin) and achievement in directing drama/comedy (Mike Smith).

It is up against TV3's hit animation series bro'Town and Leigh Hart's TV2 skit show, Moon TV for best comedy.

TV One's Mercy Peak is another contender, with five nominations, including best drama series and performance by an actress (Sara Wiseman).

The channel's upcoming Good Hands is also in the running for best drama series.

The three documentary finalists could not have been more diverse. Shona McCullagh and Leanne Pooley's Haunting Douglas, about the life of contemporary dancer Douglas Wright, is up against Keith Hunter's Murder on the Blade, an investigation into the Scott Watson murder case, and Danny Mulheron and Tom Scott's Reluctant Revolutionary which explores the life of former Prime Minister David Lange.

Being Eve has four nominations, including best children's programme.

In the feature film section, the Maurice Gee adaptation In My Father's Den has 12 nominations, including best picture, achievement in directing and screenplay (both Brad McGann) and achievement in cinematography (Stuart Dryburgh).

The film, now screening in Britain, is up against Larry Parr's Fracture (also an adaptation of a Gee novel) and Gaylene Preston's romantic thriller Perfect Strangers, each with 11 nominations.

Kate Elliott (Fracture), Emily Barclay (In My Father's Den) and Rachael Blake (Perfect Strangers) are the nominees for performance by an actress in a leading role. English actor Matthew Macfadyen (In My Father's Den) faces competition from experienced Sam Neill (Perfect Strangers) and 15-year-old Andrew Paterson (50 Ways of Saying Fabulous) for the leading actor title.

No Ordinary Sun leads the charge in the short film category with four nominations, including best short film.

Nominees listed at the website below.