Julia Parnell is a New Zealand film and television producer, and director of

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s. She is head of the production company Notable Pictures.

Early life and education

Julia Parnell was born in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya, to a British father and New Zealand mother. The family moved to New Zealand when Parnell was 10. In 1997 she studied at South Seas Film and Television School in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Career

Parnell's career started in 1999. After graduating from film school, she worked at several local production companies. She joined ButoBase Productions (now Buto Productions), gradually working her way up to head the company. She spent six years at the company, overseeing factual series and producing documentaries. These included ''Ngāti NRL'', which explored the "Mozzie" subculture of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

players in the tough Australian rugby league competition. She also produced a 2009 documentary about

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

star

Riki Ellison Riki Morgan Ellison (born 15 August 1960) is a New Zealand-American former professional player of American football who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was known as Riki Gray while playing college foo ...

, along with many other titles for

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. Parnell left Butobase in early July 2010 to start her own production company, Notable Pictures. Since the opening of Notable Pictures, Parnell has produced many projects, including two series of '' Bring Your Boots, OZ'' in collaboration with Māori Television's

Glen Osborne Glen Matthew Osborne (born 27 August 1971) is a New Zealand television presenter, former rugby union player and current Police Constable for the New Zealand Police. Osborne was born in Wanganui and played representative rugby for Wanganui in ...

, a documentary funded by

and

New Zealand On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; ), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for providing funding for broadcasting and creative works. The commission operates largely separa ...

. The series is about Henare O'Keefe,

social crusader and District Councilor for Hastings, New Zealand, '' Both Worlds'', a

-funded documentary series for broadcast on

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

. in which ten

second-generation Second generation or variants may refer to: * Second generation immigrant ** Nisei, one of the second generation of people of Japanese descent in the Americas * Second generation of Chinese leaders, see Generations of Chinese leadership * Second-ge ...

New Zealanders share their experiences of either living a cultural clash or enjoying the best of both worlds, and a one-hour documentary on Māori restorative justice. Parnell expanded into producing drama with two short films ''Hitch Hike'' and ''Friday Tigers'', and a third film, ''Dive'' (2014, written and directed by Matthew J. Saville), all three funded by the

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; ) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 a ...

. Parnell produced and directed a documentary funded by

and

, ''Rethinking Rehab'', which aimed to provide an insight into the New Zealand Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court. She also worked on Loading Docs, a 2013 initiative in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air. The project provides a launchpad for New Zealand documentary shorts, starting with ten three-minute films in 2014 based on the theme of home. ''Wilbur: The King in the Ring'', is a feature documentary co-directed with Jan Oliver Lucks that premiered at

Doc Edge The Doc Edge (formerly DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival, DOCNZ Film Festival, then Documentary Edge Festival) is New Zealand's Academy Award-qualifying international documentary film festival, run annually by the Documentary New Z ...

in 2017, after starting life as a short film in 2015 for Loading Docs. It tells the story of former

pro wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Wilbur McDougall, as he battles addiction and undergoes gastric sleeve surgery.

Recognition and awards

*In 2010, Parnell won Great Southern Television's Woman to Watch Award. *''Friday Tigers'', written and directed by

Aidee Walker Aidee Walker is a New Zealand film and television actress and television director. Biography Walker grew up in Hamilton, and attended Hamilton Girls' High School. While there, she formed a rock band called Handsome Geoffrey with Anna Coddin ...

, won the New Zealand International Film Festival's Best New Zealand Short Film for 2013.

Personal life

Parnell holds both

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

British citizenship The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Julia Film people from Nairobi Mass media people from Auckland Living people New Zealand television producers New Zealand women television producers Year of birth missing (living people)