Great Southern is a spirited and young multi genre indie that aims to make great television and film for the world. We thrive on creating strong ideas we believe in, attaching really talented and motivated staff and then delivering this content to our extensive list of partnering broadcasters.

Our goal is to focus on network needs, ensuring each commissioned series is aligned with the broadcaster's various goals. We have set our own high production standards and we're striving to lift these on a daily basis.

We kicked off seven years ago and we really have grown quickly, but without compromising our standards on any production. As a result we have an exciting roster in the drama, factual, comedy, light entertainment and film genres.

Just looking across the office we have two fully funded dramas in production; our factualdepartment is busy making a second series of Rescue 1 and busy with Danger Beach and The Claim Game and in comedy we are fully underway with Feedback.

Great Southern Television is run by producers Philip Smith and Rachel Gardner. It is also part owned by retail legend David Levene.

In the past 36 months the company has worked with a host of broadcasters locally and internationally, including the Discovery Channel, TVNZ, TV3, SKY and ESPN. New Zealand on Air, the government funding agency, is also a major supporter and funding partner of GSTV programming.

2010 is shaping up to be another busy year. Deep breath! Here goes ...

PHILIP SMITH
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Head of factual , light entertainment, non scripted comedy.

Philip specialises in creating, writing and pitching shows. He is also Managing Director.

Since setting up Great Southern Film & Television five years ago he has had the good fortune to see 18 of his original television ideas commissioned and produced. The ideas include dramas, tele-features, five comedies and a raft of factual and reality programming. Among his highlights:

• Eating Media Lunch is currently in its ninth season whilst its cousin, The Unauthorised History of New Zealand is in its fourth season.
• The Lion Man has sold globally to over 120 countries.
• Remarkable Vets screens on National Geographic's Wild Channel.
• Drama, The Pretender is into its second series.

Philip says he is trying to think of the next big idea - trying to be ahead creatively but also creating shows that really work and deliver for the networks, and ultimately the audience.

RACHEL GARDNER
COMPANY DIRECTOR
Head of Drama, Film, Scripted Comedy.

Rachel was recently voted The Woman to Watch in New Zealand Film and Television. We joked that it is hard to watch Rachel because she goes so fast - in the past six months producing two feature films, a primetime factual series and a major network drama simultaneously.

Rachel has worked in the media since 1991 and has a First Class Honours degree from University College London and a Masters degree from The London School of Economics. Rachel's skill lies in the film and drama areas although she has also delivered a raft of top rating factual shows and comedies to the New Zealand networks.

Her first feature film, Apron Strings, was selected for the Toronto Film Festival and she is currently producing The Cult, an $8M drama for TVNZ.

Rachel also has a significant drama development slate and works closely with most of New Zealand's film and drama writers.

She is always in the market for co-production partners internationally in the film, tele-feature and long run drama series areas.

MARTIN CLEAVE
FACTUAL PRODUCER

Martin has been intimately involved in the Film & Television Industry for over eighteen years. After obtaining a diploma from Don Selwyn's seminal Film & Television Arts School, Martin was employed as an editor at Vidcom Productions Ltd. Since then he has produced numerous documentaries, factual/reality series, music videos and Blue Chip TVC's. Martin has held a variety of executive positions, including a government appointed director for Maori Television and delegate for the South Pacific Broadcasting organisation UNESCO. Martin's most recent accolades include International Plantinum awards for his two observational TV series "Ocean Zoo" and "Hope in Hell".

YVONNE DONOHOE
DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

Yvonne Donohoe recently joined Great Southern Film & Television after four years at Element Pictures in Ireland and London, where she worked as a Development Executive with Producer Ed Guiney. Yvonne headed up Elements Irish feature film development slate and worked across both the UK feature film and TV drama slates, providing creative support to the Producers and Heads of Development as well as being responsible for acquiring and developing projects in Ireland and the UK.

During her time at Element, Yvonne worked on the development and production of many feature film projects including; Garage from writer Mark O'Halloran and director Lenny Abrahamson, which was selected for Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and won the CICAE Art and Essai award, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, directed by Ken Loach, which Element co-produced and which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has become the most successful independent film ever released in Ireland, and Zonad, directed by John Carney, director of the film Once, which is now in post-production. She also worked on a number of television projects.