In a tough year that tested the resilience of the domestic arts scene, artists of Asian heritage celebrated several remarkable achievements through the past 12 months as they brought diversity to the forefront of storytelling and performance.
From producing award-winning comedies to launching groundbreaking initiatives, Asian artists added their voice to Aotearoa's creative landscape in 2024.
Ankita Singh and Calvin Sang's Give Me Babies from TVNZ's Motherhood anthology clinched best comedy at the 2024 New Zealand Television Awards, marking a standout moment for South Asian representation.
The series, which follows an Indian Chinese mixed martial arts fighter navigating family expectations, was a beacon of success in what Singh described as a "challenging year" for the industry.
"It has been really cool to get some recognition," Singh said. "We're hoping this award will open more opportunities for Asian creators."
Ankita Singh and Calvin Sang's Give Me Babies from TVNZ's Motherhood anthology won best comedy at the 2024 New Zealand Television Awards. Photo: Supplied / Ankita Singh
The win adds to Singh's growing reputation.
In 2023, she became the first South Asian female playwright commissioned by Auckland Theatre, with her play Basmati Bitch premiering at Q Theatre.
Singh is currently directing her first documentary for TVNZ, spotlighting a world-leading Dunedin study that has prompted international law changes.
"It's a world-leading study about aging that not many people in New Zealand know about," she said.
Despite the industry feeling "a bit slow" in 2024, Singh remained optimistic, continuing to push boundaries in television and theatre.
For Jacob Rajan, co-founder of Indian Ink Theatre Company, 2024 was one of his busiest years yet.
"I think for the first time ever, we had four plays running at the same time," Rajan said.
"We were touring in America with Dirty Work, I was performing Paradise or The Impermanence of Ice Cream in Singapore and we brought Guru of Chai back for a return season in Auckland, Wellington and Nelson," he said.
The return of Indian Ink to Singapore was another highlight, marking the company's first visit since 2016.
Jacob Rajan is co-founder of Indian Ink Theatre Company. Photo: supplied
Rajan was also excited about the group's performance at the Darwin Festival in August.
"We've done the Melbourne and Sydney festivals, but Darwin felt more like the wild west - and it's kind of cool that way," he said.
Looking ahead to 2025, Rajan hinted at exciting projects, including the ongoing success of Mrs Krishnan's Party in the United States, which has toured extensively and shows no sign of slowing.
He also revealed plans to adapt a short story by renowned Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore titled Kabuliwala into a contemporary New Zealand setting.
Tiffin Box, a multidisciplinary show by Prayas Theatre, further showcased domestic South Asian artists in 2024, while the Probasee Bengalee Association of New Zealand celebrated its 25th annual production with a comedy-drama titled Awghoton … aajo ghote.
Meanwhile, Shuchi Kothari, co-founder of the Pan Asian Screen Collective, said the organisation had been increasingly influential over the past year.
Founded in 2018, the collective advocates for and creates opportunities for Pan-Asian practitioners in Aotearoa's screen sector.
Shuchi Kothari is co-founder of the Pan Asian Screen Collective. Photo: Supplied
Kothari shared two major achievements for 2024.
First, she secured funding from New Zealand on Air in partnership with RNZ for a second round of the Episode One Web Series Development and Pilot Production initiative.
"People get $20,000 in development and $90,000 in production funding, along with individual mentoring and marketing sessions," she said. "It's a robust programme, and we're doing it again."
The second highlight was an initiative called Writer's Room: Seat at the Table, which was designed to train PASC members to write for the screen.
"This was designed to get people from PASC across the line in terms of being story liners for other people's projects and also eventually running their own writer's room," Kothari said.
Participants even had the chance to write scripts for the second season of hit shows such as The Bear, Fleabag and Severance.
PASC's collaborations also extended to the Ministry of Ethnic Communities for a co-branded event featuring film screenings across Auckland, with plans to expand nationwide.
Other notable successes from PASC members in 2024 included Kiwi actor Jess Hong's lead role in Netflix's sci-fi series 3 Body Problem and Roseanne Liang's work as co-executive producer and director of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Liang, a Chinese-New Zealander, directed two episodes of the eight-part series, one of the platform's biggest productions this year.
Another memorable achievement was Siddharth Nambiar, co-director of the documentary Dynamic Planet, winning best director in the documentary/factual category at the 2024 New Zealand TV Awards.
Looking forward to 2025, Kothari is excited about what lies ahead.
"The delivery of Episode One will be big," she said. "We're in the selection process now, and teams will be finalised in January."
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