BillSaunders
- Journalist
- Producer
The career of pioneering documentarian Bill Saunders began in the early days of New Zealand television. He went on to champion a fly on the wall documentary style and win Feltex Awards for acclaimed films on Moriori, and the elderly. Saunders was the final remaining member of TVNZ’s documentary unit when it was disbanded in 1988, and an outspoken advocate of public service broadcasting until his death in 1995.
Screenography
Biography
Bill Saunders was born and bred in Christchurch and after studying law, he joined the NZ Broadcasting Corporation as a radio announcer in 1962. A year later he moved to Wellington, and became one of the first members of the NZBC documentary unit. In 1968 he began reporting for the local edition of magazine show Town and Around, where he covered everything from road crossing techniques to boorish rugby fans, and became a local TV personality; he was even a judge on a Miss NZ University pageant.
Awards
1995 New Zealand Film and Television Awards
Nominated for Best Documentary (with Rosemary Finlay): Everybody Hurts
1981 Feltex Television Awards (New Zealand)
Best Documentary: Moriori
“Though still a young man he was yet the elder statesman of New Zealand’s documentary makers … He was a true gentleman, integrity and compassion the hallmarks of both the man and his work.”