Major Gong for Maker of Controversial Jesus Documentary

A controversial documentary by TV ONE’s The Investigator Bryan Bruce which screened earlier this year, has just won the prestigious Best Popular Documentary or Documentary Series category at the Aotearoa Film & Television Awards (AFTA).

Formerly known as the Qantas Film & Television Awards, these Awards recognise the best of the best in New Zealand’s film and television programmes. This year, the judges were spoilt for choice as they chose the AFTA winners from an incredibly strong pool of film and television talent, making the Awards the most hotly contested in years.

In his 90-minute, feature-length documentary, Jesus: The Cold Case, award-winning investigative journalist, Bryan Bruce, applied his skills to the question Who Killed Jesus? and concluded that neither the Jews not the Jewish authorities could be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of causing the death of Jesus on the "evidence" of the Gospels.

Talking about his AFTA Award Bruce said, "I celebrate the fact that I live in a country which has freedom of expression of opinion. The documentary has received a lot of criticism from fundamentalists but liberal Christians have praised it. It was a brave documentary by TVNZ and NZ On Air to fund and a brave decision by the Judges to select it as the Best Documentary. It is important to tell the truth – no matter how painful".

The Awards were announced at a Gala ceremony at Auckland’s new Viaduct Events Centre on Saturday 12 November.

Fresh from his Award win, Bruce is now keenly anticipating the reception for his next hard-hitting documentary, INSIDE NEW ZEALAND: CHILD POVERTY – A SPECIAL REPORT (TV3, Tuesday 22 November, 7.30pm). A confronting expose of what has gone wrong with child health in New Zealand, Bruce’s documentary offers new insights and practical solutions into how this has happened and what can be done about it.

Wellington-based Bryan Bruce is one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded documentary makers. Educated at Canterbury University, from which he has a Masters in Philosophy and Sociology, he has made over 30 documentaries and television series. He has won awards for Best Director (most recently the Qantas Award) and Best Writer. Over the years, his work has been selected for several international festivals, including the New York Television Festival, the Banff Awards and the French Jules Verne Awards. Jesus: the Cold Case is his third book. The documentary bearing the same name is based on its research.